Is the most representative skunk the average or the stinkiest? Developmental changes in representations of biological categories
Is the most representative skunk the average or the stinkiest? Developmental changes in representations of biological categories
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DOI：
10.1016/j.cogpsych.2018.12.004
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发表时间：
2019-05-01
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Rhodes, Marjorie
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Foster-Hanson, Emily;Rhodes, Marjorie
人们经常根据最具代表性的例子来考虑类别(例如，知更鸟)。因此，确定哪些范例最具代表性是一个基本的认知过程，它塑造了人们使用概念导航世界的方式。目前的研究(N=669；年龄为5岁-成年)揭示了认知的这一重要组成部分的发展变化。研究1-2发现，幼儿认为特征特征极端值的样本(例如，最快的猎豹)是最具代表性的熟悉生物类别；以这种方式看待平均样本(例如，平均速度的猎豹)的倾向随着年龄的增长而缓慢出现。研究3考察了这些判断背后的机制，发现所有年龄段的参与者都将极端样本视为新动物类别的代表，当他们了解到可变特征满足类别特定的适应需求时，但不是其他情况。对概念结构和生物推理的发展变化的含义进行了讨论。
People often think of categories in terms of their most representative examples (e.g., robin for BIRD). Thus, determining which exemplars are most representative is a fundamental cognitive process that shapes how people use concepts to navigate the world. The present studies (N = 669; ages 5 years - adulthood) revealed developmental change in this important component of cognition. Studies 1-2 found that young children view exemplars with extreme values of characteristic features (e.g., the very fastest cheetah) as most representative of familiar biological categories; the tendency to view average exemplars in this manner (e.g., the average-speeded cheetah) emerged slowly across age. Study 3 examined the mechanisms underlying these judgments, and found that participants of all ages viewed extreme exemplars as representative of novel animal categories when they learned that the variable features fulfilled category-specific adaptive needs, but not otherwise. Implications for developmental changes in conceptual structure and biological reasoning are discussed.