24-Month-olds and over remember novel object names after a single learning event

In the context of word learning, it is commonly assumed that repetition is required for young children to form and maintain in memory an association between a novel word and its corresponding object. For instance, at 2 years of age, children are able to disambiguate word-related situations in one shot but are not able to further retain this newly acquired knowledge. It has been proposed that multiple fast-mapping experiences would be required to promote word retention or that the inferential reasoning needs to be accompanied by explicit labeling of the target. We hypothesized that when 2-year-olds simply encounter an unambiguous learning context, word learning may be fast and maintained in time. We also assumed that, under this condition, even a single exposure to an object would be sufficient to form a memory trace of its name that would survive a delay. To test these hypotheses, 2- and 4-year-olds were ostensively taught three arbitrary word–object pairs using a 15-s video sequence during which each object was manually displayed and labeled three times in a row. Retention was measured after a 30-min distractive period using a forced-choice procedure. Our results provide evidence that declarative memory does not need repetition to be formed and maintained, for at least a 30-min period, by children as young as 2 years. This finding suggests that the mechanisms required for extremely rapid and robust word acquisition not only are present in preschoolers with developed language and cognitive skills but also are already operative at a younger age.