Imagine that a young child is presented with a novel word, "teddy," when her uncle says, "What a sweet teddy." In front of the child are two objects, a teddy bear-"bear" is a word the child already knows-and a can opener, an object the child has never seen before. The child makes the assumption that the novel word refers to the can opener through an expectation referred to as
A) the mutual exclusivity assumption.
B) fast mapping.
C) the whole-object assumption.
D) cross-situational word learning.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The mutual exclusivity assumption is the tendency of young children to assume that each object has only one label or name. Therefore, when presented with a novel word, the child assumes that it refers to an object that does not already have a known label or name. In this case, since the child already knows the label for the teddy bear, she assumes that the novel word "teddy" must refer to the unfamiliar object- the can opener.

Imagine That a Young Child Is Presented with a Novel