How is word comprehension typically assessed in pre-verbal infants?

How is word comprehension typically assessed in pre-verbal infants?

• A. Parental report of comprehension
• B. Through eye-tracking, head-turn preference, or preferential looking paradigms
• C. EEG peaks during listening
• D. Production of babble words

Answer: (B)

Word comprehension in pre-verbal infants is typically assessed through behavioral responses that reveal understanding without requiring speech. When a word is spoken, researchers measure whether the infant looks at or toward the correct referenced object or image, using methods like eye-tracking, head-turn preference, or preferential looking paradigms. Faster or longer looking toward the target after hearing the word indicates comprehension. Parental reports can be biased and are indirect, EEG findings show neural processing but aren’t a direct readout of understood words, and producing babble words assesses production rather than understanding. So the looking-based behavioral measures provide the most direct evidence of word comprehension at this stage.

Word comprehension in pre-verbal infants is typically assessed through behavioral responses that reveal understanding without requiring speech. When a word is spoken, researchers measure whether the infant looks at or toward the correct referenced object or image, using methods like eye-tracking, head-turn preference, or preferential looking paradigms. Faster or longer looking toward the target after hearing the word indicates comprehension. Parental reports can be biased and are indirect, EEG findings show neural processing but aren’t a direct readout of understood words, and producing babble words assesses production rather than understanding. So the looking-based behavioral measures provide the most direct evidence of word comprehension at this stage.