Some Beginnings of Word Comprehension in 6-Month-Olds

Previous studies of infants' comprehension of words estimated the onset of this ability at 9 months or later. However, these estimates were based on responses to names of relatively immobile, familiar objects. Comprehension of names referring to salient, animated figures (e.g., one's parents) may begin even earlier. In a test of this possibility, 6-month-olds were shown side-by-side videos of their parents while listening to the words “mommy” and “daddy.” The infants looked significantly more at the video of the named parent. A second experiment revealed that infants do not associate these words with men and women in general. Infants shown videos of unfamiliar parents did not adjust their looking patterns in response to “mommy” and “daddy.”