Imagine a 2-year-old girl sitting on the floor playing with an assortment of toys—her favorite doll, a set of stacking cups, and a brand new toy sailboat. Her mother looks over and says, “There’s your new boat.” Jenny holds the boat in the air and says “boat”. The next day, Jenny looks out the car window and says “boat” when she sees a speedboat being pulled behind a car. From hearing her toy sailboat named one time, Jenny somehow knew which other objects were called by the same name. As remarkable as this example may sound, any parent can tell you that it is not that far-fetched. Young children are very skilled at learning new words.

We want to know how children become so skilled at this difficult task. With the help of the many dedicated parents and children who have visited the lab, we have learned that some of the skill children show in learning new words comes from discovering patterns among the words they already know.

Our current studies examine on how young use what they already know to learn new things. In many of our studies we look at this by asking children to categorize and name novel objects and substances. In other studies we do not name the objects, but watch how the children play with and group the objects. Another set of studies in the lab is looking at how children use what they know about solid objects to find something that is out of sight.

We thank all the parents and children who have participated in our studies. Your support has enabled us to understand more about how young children learn language and about the world around them. We couldn't do it without you!

Map and Directions to the Lab
What to Expect When you Visit the Lab


How learning new names now helps you learn more names later.
Children in this study visit the lab once a week for nine weeks and are taught twelve words in a naturalistic setting where they play with the objects while we name them. During some sessions we test learning of the new names. In other sessions children are asked to extend novel names to novel objects. This will help us understand how learning the training words relates to learning novel words as well as how children generalize words to new instances of a category. A vocabulary measure is completed each week to track children's vocabulary development over the course of the study and at a one-month follow-up. We are interested in how children's experiences in the lab affect their development outside of the lab. The participants in this study are 15-21 months of age.

How young children name solid and deformable objects
This study investigates how young children name objects. The children participating in this task are 18 to 23-months-old. They are shown a novel object and are given a name for it. They are then asked to find another object that can be called by the same name. They are given a choice between four objects that match the first one in either: shape, material, color, or color and material. We also measure children's vocabulary to see how object choices are influenced by the words children already know. The entire experiment lasts about 20 minutes.
The influence of similar sounds on name learning
The purpose of this study is to investigate how young children learn new words that sound like words they already know. Children currently participating in this study are 20 months-of-age. Children are given sets of novel objects to play with for a short amount of time. During this time the experimenter names the objects with made-up names. The children then spend five minutes coloring with the experimenter. After this delay period, the children are asked to pick which name went with which object. Children are also asked to say the new names when shown new examples of the made-up objects.

The role of language in toddlers' categorizations by shape and material
This study examines how children know what objects go together and how early language influences object grouping. Children are given several toys to play with that can be grouped in different ways. Then children learn something new about the toys and we look at how this new knowledge changes how they play with the toys. This study is for 15 to 17 month-old children.

Shape and intention in children's naming of pictures
This study examines children's attention to shape and information about an artist's intent when naming pictures of familiar things. Children are initially asked to draw pictures of things that look similar, for example a balloon, a lollipop and a spoon. The children then look at pictures drawn by others and are asked to describe them. Finally, they are asked to remember and describe the pictures they drew in the beginning of the experiment. This study is for children between 32- and 48-months-of-age.


When you arrive at Spence Laboratories a research assistant from the lab will meet you and your child at the doors just inside the Iowa Avenue entrance. They will show you to a comfortable waiting room in the lab. Here your child can play with toys, color and do puzzles while the research assistant goes over the experimental procedure and informed consent document. Next, the research assistant will take you and your child into one of the two laboratory testing rooms. If you have other children with you who are not participating in the study another research assistant can play with them in the waiting room so you can accompany your child during the experiment. During experimental sessions, you will sit next to your child in the testing room. At the completion of the study, your child will get to pick a prize from an array of gifts as a token of our appreciation for your participation. The research assistant will then validate your parking ticket and show you back to the Spence Laboratories entrance.