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ERIC Number: EJ1140482
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2017
Pages: 21
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Changes in Beliefs about Category Homogeneity and Variability across Childhood
Brandone, Amanda C.
Child Development, v88 n3 p846-866 May-Jun 2017
Effective category-based induction requires understanding that categories include both fundamental similarities between members and important variation. This article explores 4- to 11-year-olds' (n = 207) and adults' (n = 49) intuitions about this balance between within-category homogeneity and variability using a novel induction task in which participants predict the distribution of a property among members of a novel category. Across childhood, children learned to recognize variability within categories--showing increasing sensitivity to the role of property type and domain in constraining inferences. Children below the age of 6 showed evidence for a domain-general assumption that categories are homogeneous--generalizing properties broadly to 100% of category members. These studies support important developmental changes in category representations that may influence category-based induction.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A