A Researcher


I earned my Ph.D. degree in Psychology (Cognitive Science) from Arizona State University in 2025. 
I am interested in exploring how infants and children learn languages along with their interaction with the world. 
Ye with her graduation regalia in Arizona

Research Interest

  • I learn from babies about language development: How does early language develop with concurrent sensory and motor milestones in a dynamical system? 
  • I learn from adults about language mechanism: How does word learning interact with learners’ cognitive skills and language experience? 

Publication

* denotes corresponding author 
  • Li, Y.* & Benitez, V. L.* (2025a). Concurrences across time and sensorimotor capacities promote infant learning. Child Development Perspectives. 19(2): 99-107. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12531
  • Li, Y.* & Benitez, V.L. (2025b). Probing the role of multilingualism and working memory in cross-situational word learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 51(5), 804-824. https://doi.org/10.1037/xlm0001361 
  • Li, Y.* & Benitez, V. L. (2024). Lexical tone as a cue in statistical word learning from bilingual input. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition. 27(5): 886-900. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728923000858 
  • Benitez, V. L.*, & Li, Y. (2024). Cross-situational word learning in children and adults: The case of lexical overlap. Language Learning and Development. 20 (3): 195-218. https://doi.org/10.1080/15475441.2023.2256713 
  • Li, Y.*, Zhang, Z., & Huang, Y. (2020). A corpus-based diachronic analysis on gender bias in Great Britain from 1961 to 1990. Journal of Chongqing Technology and Business University (Social Science Edition). 37(02): 128-140. 
Manuscripts under review 
  • Li, Y.*, Yu, S. P., McBeath, M. K., & Benitez, V. L. (under revision). U.S. English-speaking children and adults exhibit a “Gleam-Glum” sound symbolic effect linking phonemic vowel sounds with emotional valence. 
  • Kuo, J. E., Li, Y., Yu, S. P., McBeath, M. K., & Benitez, V. L.* (under review). The Wham-Womb sound symbolic effect: English-speaking children and adults link phonemes with arousal. 
  • Yu, X. X., Xu, W. Q., Yu, S. F., & Li, Y.* (under review). Assessing the effectiveness of high-school physics laboratories based on embodied cognition theories -- a study on learning high-school mechanics. 

Child Development Perspectives: Li & Benitez (2025)
Child Development Perspectives: Li & Benitez (2025)
Dissertation: Li, 2025
Dissertation: Li, 2025
Share

Tools
Translate to