On target-fixated known label trials, children happened to be fixating the known target (door) at the time of label onset (“door”). In general, children continued fixating this target and pointed without double-checking the distractor (cup).

On distractor-fixated known label trials, children happened to be fixating the distractor object (pot) at the time of known label onset (“bed”). Children quickly shifted gaze to the target and pointed to the target.

These are the critical trials. Children tended to fixate both the novel target (blick) and the known distractor (kite) before hearing the novel label (“blick”). However, after hearing this novel label, children systematically switched gaze back to the known object distractor (kite), rejected it, and returned gaze to the novel target (blick) (a “double-check”). Reaction time to point suggests that it is the rejection of the known object distractor (kite), and not information about the novel target (blick), that predicts childrens’ rate to map a novel label to a novel object. Once the child has decided to reject the known object distractor (kite) he quickly shifts his gaze back to the novel target (blick) and points.