Development of Reasoning - HAYES

Question 1

Why is inductive reasoning important?

Answer 1

• Intuitive
• Requires no special training
• Fast
• Appears early in development

Question 2

IR Developmental/educational significance

Answer 2

• Maximizes the benefits of previous learning
• Inductive reasoning part of most tests of general ability
• Targeted as a key learning goal in Educational curricula (ACARA “Thinking Strategies”)
• Key part of scientific reasoning

Question 3

Category-based induction

Answer 3

• Using knowledge of familiar categories to make inferences about the generalization of novel properties

Question 4

Perceptual vs conceptual relations – three approaches

Answer 4

1. Young children capable of using taxonomic cues (conceptual information) as a basis for induction
2. Young children rely on perceptual (rather than taxonomic) cues unless instructed
3. Work in our lab – re-examining the perceptual account (words, For children <7 auditory similarity overshadows visual similarity)

Question 5

ITR Studies

Answer 5

• Under fixed item encoding conditions
• Adults- Activate category-level information during induction
• Children- Activate category-level information during induction
• Sloutsky & Fisher results may be an artefact of their self-paced training procedures
• Taxonomic assumption operates in preschoolers / early school-age children

Question 6

taxonomic assumption

Answer 6

• things which belong to the same category tend to share lots of other properties