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Welcome to the Child Language & Cognition Lab.

We are currently recruiting 3 year-olds!
Click the brainchild below to participate.

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Do YOU know what a 'zimbidy' is?

Young children learn new words rapidly and with little effort. One way researchers study this so called "vocabulary explosion" is to present children with two objects, one of which has a known name (e.g., a cup) and one that does not (e.g., kettlebell). When asked, “Which one is a zimbidy?”, children will choose the latter (i.e., the one they don't know the name for). Research into children’s word learning suggests that this tendency to assume novel labels refer to novel objects may be one explanation for the rapid growth in young children’s vocabulary.

Our research often involves teaching children made-up names (e.g., zimbidy) for novel objects. Using this paradigm, we can examine underlying processes involved in word learning, metacognition, and categorization.

Cognitive Development Videos

• LAB ADDRESS
  Department of Psychology
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  186 Kent Hall
  Ph. 330-672-2059
   

• PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
  William Merriman
  Professor of Psychology 
  201 Kent Hall
  Ph. 330-672-2059
  wmerrim@kent.edu