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Lifespan Shifts in Implicit and Explicit Mechanisms of Statistical Language Learning
Poster Session F, Friday, October 2, 2:45 - 4:45 pm, Wangari Maathai
ELEONORE SMALLE1, Soila Kuuluvainen2, Yvonne Brehmer1, Riikka Möttönen2; 1Tilburg University, 2University of Helsinki
Statistical learning, the extraction of regularities from sensory input, is a key mechanism in language acquisition and has mostly been explored in relation to speech processing. However, the divergent development of the explicit and implicit memory systems underlying this ability across the lifespan remains insufficiently understood. We investigated the developmental trajectories of memory systems supporting statistical learning from childhood into older adulthood using a large cross-sectional sample (N=500; ages 6–81 years). Participants were exposed to artificial language streams consisting of repeating novel word-forms, with boundary cues presented either via familiar prosodic markers or without such cues. Following exposure, participants completed a word recognition task accompanied by trial-by-trial self-reports of memory awareness, allowing the dissociation of explicit and implicit learning processes. Modeling the recognition performance in overlapping five-year age bands using a polynomial regression fit revealed a non-linear developmental curve in statistical learning abilities. While overall word recognition accuracy remained broadly stable, two distinct peaks of heightened sensitivity appeared: one in early adolescence and another in middle to late adulthood. Adolescents primarily exhibited explicit memory for novel words (i.e., conscious recognition of the words), while older adults showed enhanced implicit learning (i.e., unconscious recognition of the words). Notably, the younger adults exhibited the lowest learning performance overall but benefitted highly from prosodic cues during exposure. These results indicate that statistical language learning engages different memory systems and strategies at different life stages, with implicit versus explicit processes and input familiarity, contributing variably across age. Overall, our findings provide novel evidence for dynamic, age-dependent shifts in the cognitive mechanisms underlying statistical language learning. The results emphasize the importance of input structure in facilitating language acquisition in adults and highlight that successful speech segmentation can follow multiple memory pathways across life. These insights have direct implications for existing dual-process theories in skill learning, in particular the cognitive cost hypothesis in language development, and suggest some long-term practical considerations for educational practice and language intervention—particularly in tailoring individual strategies to successful language learning.
Topic Areas: Language Development/Acquisition, Speech Perception