Mapping new names to known objects: ERP insights from cross-situational learning of novel written words

Cross-situational word learning describes the process by which learners acquire new words by tracking statistical regularities obtained from ambiguous word-referent encoding encounters over time. This study measured event-related potentials and behavioural responses to assess the acquisition of written word meanings through cross-situational word learning, in which novel orthographic forms served as written names for familiar objects. During the learning phase, participants disambiguated mappings between novel written words (e.g., 'ket') and familiar objects (e.g., sword). After learning, participants performed a semantic relatedness judgement task, pairing newly learned words with familiar written words from either a related (e.g., dagger) or unrelated (e.g., harp) semantic category. To provide a control measure, the semantic judgement task also included a condition comprising semantically related and unrelated familiar word pairs. Analyses revealed an N400 effect for semantic judgements of word meaning relatedness, both for the novel-familiar and familiar-familiar word pair conditions. These findings suggest that novel written word meanings can be rapidly acquired through cross-situational learning, with neurophysiological responses that resemble those for familiar words, albeit showing a more left-hemisphere distribution for novel words and a more right-hemisphere distribution for familiar words.