Mediated priming refers to the activation of a target word by a prime word through an intermediate word. This type of priming provides behavioral evidence of between- and within-level spreading activation in the lexical system. Studies of toddlers show phonosemantic between-level mediated priming that supports a cascade of activation between different levels of processing. However, it is not clear whether the activation can spread freely within the same level. This study explored whether 24-month-old toddlers show mediated priming effects at the semantic level (e.g., cat [prime] – mouse [mediator] – cheese [target]) with a preferential looking task using an eye tracker. The results show a smaller proportion of target looking and greater pupil size in the related condition than in the unrelated condition; these effects were greater in the second half of the analysis window. We interpret these data as a spreading activation that is partially free but modulated during infancy. We also provide evidence of pupil dilation as a neurophysiological marker in a preferential looking task with priming. We discuss the results in light of the cognitive control, inhibition, and general cognitive skills of toddlers.

中介启动是指主词通过中间词激活目标词。这种类型的启动提供了词汇系统中层间和层内传播激活的行为证据。对幼儿的研究表明，语音语义级别间介导的启动支持不同级别处理之间的级联激活。但是，尚不清楚激活是否可以在同一级别内自由传播。本研究探讨了 24 个月大的幼儿是否在语义级别（例如，猫 [prime] – 小鼠 [mediator] – cheese [target]）使用眼动仪进行优先观察任务时表现出介导的启动效应。结果显示，相关条件下的目标寻找比例较小，瞳孔大小比无关条件下更大；这些影响在分析窗口的后半部分更大。我们将这些数据解释为部分自由但在婴儿期进行调制的传播激活。我们还提供了瞳孔扩张的证据，作为优先寻找任务中的神经生理学标记。我们根据幼儿的认知控制、抑制和一般认知技能讨论结果。