Object Function as Facilitator of Categorization in Infancy

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Our world is composed of an infinite expanse of objects, events, and object properties that must be meaningfully organized by anyone attempting to survive in it. Remarkably, even infants easily categorize this complex environment into meaningful units. How do they succeed at this seemingly overwhelming task? With support from the National Science Foundation, Dr. Amy Booth will conduct research designed to answer this fundamental question. Specifically, she will consider whether and how infants' natural curiosity about how objects function might facilitate their learning of new categories. The research will be conducted on 14-month-old infants who will be introduced to novel categories under a number of different conditions. Variations in learning success should reveal the components of object function that provide support for forming new categories, as well as the mechanisms by which they do so. Dr. Booth's project will have important implications for theories of early categorization and conceptual development. More broadly, the impacts of this project include applications to early education and intervention programs. The better we understand the mechanisms underlying early conceptual development, the better we will be equipped to identify the experiences that will foster optimal cognitive and linguistic development in children. In addition, this project provides opportunities for several undergraduate and graduate students to directly participate in research.