Naming people and objects in baby's first year may offer learning benefits years later

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2014-12/uoma-npa121614.php

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 16-Dec-2014

Contact: Janet Lathrop
University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Naming people and objects in baby's first year may offer learning benefits years later
UMass Amherst study suggests naming between 6 and 9 months lays 'learning foundation'

In a follow-up to her earlier studies of learning in infancy, developmental psychologist Lisa Scott and colleagues at the University of Massachusetts Amherst are reporting that talking to babies in their first year, in particular naming things in their world, can help them make connections between what they see and hear, and these learning benefits can be seen as much as five years later.

"Learning in infancy between the ages of six to nine months lays a foundation for learning later in childhood," Scott says. "Infants learn labels for people and things at a very early age. Labeling helps them recognize people and objects individually and helps them decide how detailed their understanding of the object or face needs to be."

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