What does the whole-object constraint describe in word learning?

What does the whole-object constraint describe in word learning?

• A. The tendency to assume a new word refers to the whole object rather than its parts or properties.
• B. The view that words refer to shapes only.
• C. The idea that words map to actions rather than objects.
• D. The belief that every object has many labels.

Answer: (A)

The whole-object constraint is a bias in early word learning where children tend to map a newly heard word to the entire object, not to a part, color, shape, or an action. This helps them quickly connect new labels to objects in a busy world with many potential referents. For example, when a child hears a novel word while seeing a novel object, they are more likely to assume the word refers to the object as a whole rather than to one of its features or to an associated action. This bias makes noun learning more efficient and consistent across different contexts. The other options describe mappings to shapes, actions, or multiple labels, which don’t capture this general tendency to prefer the whole object as the referent.

The whole-object constraint is a bias in early word learning where children tend to map a newly heard word to the entire object, not to a part, color, shape, or an action. This helps them quickly connect new labels to objects in a busy world with many potential referents. For example, when a child hears a novel word while seeing a novel object, they are more likely to assume the word refers to the object as a whole rather than to one of its features or to an associated action. This bias makes noun learning more efficient and consistent across different contexts. The other options describe mappings to shapes, actions, or multiple labels, which don’t capture this general tendency to prefer the whole object as the referent.