Conceptual Development Flashcards
Concepts
General ideas/understandings that organize objects, events, qualities, or relations on the basis of some similarity
Infinite possible concepts
E.g. similar shapes, materials, sizes, tastes, colours, functions, etc.
Categorical Thinking
Dividing the world into categories
Objects in the same category have similar properties, follow similar rules, etc.
E.g. assume anything that is an animal moves, grows, eats, reproduces
Three Big General Categories
People
Other animals
Inanimate objects
Category Hierarchies
Categories organized according to set-subset relations
E.g. furniture, chair, LaZ Boy chair
Categorization in Infancy
3-4 month olds will habituate to pictures of cats but will dishabituate to lions, dogs, and other animals (looking time increased)
6 month olds habituated after being shown mammals and dishabituated when shown birds or fish
Perceptual Categorization
Grouping together of objects that have somewhat similar appearances
Before age 5: superficial characteristics (e.g. shape, legs) guide generalization of new words
5+ years: focus shifts to object function
E.g. if a Dax is a stiff hook, other hook like objects that are floppy won’t be considered to be a Dax because of function
Superordinate Level
general with broad criteria
E.g. animals: move independently, eat, reproduce
Subordinate Level
more specific, highly specific set of criteria
E.g. Shiba Inu: pointy ears, curly tail, bold personality
Basic Level
Medium/in between
Learned first
Form categories of medium generality (e.g. tree) before more general ones (e.g. plant) or more specific ones (e.g. oak)
Children and adults don’t always see the same basic category
Causal Understanding & Categorization
3 months: look longer if box released in midair remains suspended
5 months: appreciate relevance of the type of contact in support in suspending box
6 months: recognize importance of amount of contact for supporting box
12 months: take into account shape of object when suspended
Children told why wugs and gillies have certain features were better at classifying pictures into appropriate categories and remember the categories better
Cause-effect relations help children learn and remember
Characteristic Features
Common or stereotypical traits of members of a category, but aren’t necessary for membership
E.g. cats usually have fur, but hairless cats don’t
Preschoolers rely on characteristic features
Stereotypes based on characteristic features
Defining Features
Traits that define membership in a category, without these don’t belong in the category
E.g. all cats are carnivores
As kids get older kids are better able to focus on defining features when characteristic features oppose them
Naive Psychology
Baseline understanding of how humans and other living beings (animals, cartoon characters) behave in the world
Commonsense level of psychological understanding
Crucial to normal functioning and major part of being human
Intention
people act on the world independently and in line with their own goals (within 1 year)
Desire
people have their own wants and needs that vary across time and situations (1-2 years)
