Two-year-old Ariel's parents recently bought her an aquarium and have begun to point at the moving animals and call them "fish." Despite having only heard the word "fish" a few times, Ariel appears to realize that the term refers to those little moving things in the tank. Ariel's behavior is best explained by
A) infant-directed speech.
B) the one-to-one principle.
C) fast mapping.
D) the cardinality principle.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Fast mapping is the process by which children quickly connect a new word with its meaning after only a few exposures, which explains Ariel's ability to understand that "fish" refers to the moving animals in the aquarium despite having heard the term only a few times.

Two-Year-Old Ariel's Parents Recently Bought Her an Aquarium and Have