Touch-and-feel features in “first words” picture books hinder infants’ word learning

Little is known about the role of book features in infant word learning from picture books. We conducted a preregistered study to assess the role of touch-and-feel features in infants’ ability to learn new words from picture books. A total of 48 infants (Mage = 16.75 months, SD = 1.85) were assigned to a touch-and-feel picture-book condition or a standard picture-book condition (no touch-and-feel features) and were taught a novel label for an unfamiliar animal by the researcher during a book-reading session. Infants were then tested on their ability to recognize the label (i.e., choose the target from a choice of two pictures on hearing it named) and to generalize this knowledge to other types of pictures and real-world objects (scale model animals and stuffed animals). Infants in the no touch-and-feel condition performed above chance when choosing the target picture, whereas infants in the touch-and-feel condition did not. Infants in both conditions failed to generalize this knowledge to other pictures and objects. This study extends our knowledge about the role of tactile features in infant word learning from picture books. Although manipulative features like touch-and-feel patches might be engaging for infants, they may detract from learning. Depending on the purpose of the activity, parents and practitioners might find it useful to consider such book features when selecting books to read with their infants.