Shape vs. colour biases during adult word learning are linked to language experience

Children’s acquisition of category labels can be facilitated by an attentional bias toward shape. Here, we provide evidence that attending to shape vs. colour impacts adult word learning differently depending on language experience. When learning novel words for objects that highlighted shape or colour similarities, an attentional bias toward the linguistically salient visual feature facilitated learning among bilinguals, but not among monolinguals. We propose that bilingual experience may enhance the ability to capitalise on linguistic commonalities among visually similar items (i.e. positive transfer). Additionally, analyses of errors revealed that the tendency to sort by shape vs. colour may reflect a more general predisposition toward abstract, categorical processing vs. concrete, featural processing. These findings highlight the complex interactions between language, attention, and perception, and contribute toward understanding how variation in linguistic experiences and attentional biases impact learning.