"What does that animal eat?": The role of overhypotheses in how children and adults learn and reason about real-world categories

概念(即类别的心理表征)是思维的基本构件，人们以多种方式使用它们，包括当他们学习和当他们推理时。令人惊讶的是，孩子们能够从一个类别的单个成员的经历中形成概念(例如，在看到只有一只松鼠吃坚果后，他们预计松鼠一般都会吃坚果)。在这种情况下学习很有挑战性，但孩子们似乎很容易做到这一点。因此，哲学家们提出，必须有引导学习的约束。在我的研究计划中，我考察了这些约束之一--过度假设，这是更高阶的概括。学习者可能会使用关于一般类别的特征特征的过度假设(例如，不同种类的动物有独特的饮食)来指导学习特定类别的预期(例如，松鼠吃坚果)。我讨论了三个与使用和获得真实世界类别的过度假设有关的问题。在每一项拟议的研究中，我检查了4至8岁儿童和成年人的反应，以调查人们如何学习和使用过度假设的发展轨迹。1)过度假设在哪些方面指导人们进行推理？我将系统地考察过度假设的使用范围。具体地说，我将探索它们是否指导(1)参与者想要了解的关于不熟悉类别的信息的类型，(2)人们关于类别成员的记忆信息，以及(3)人们从单个类别成员概括为整个类别成员的特征。2)不同年龄段的学习者如何形成过度假设？在这些研究中，我探索了参与者形成过度假设的可能性是否受到所提供样本的内容和描述类别成员特征的语言的影响。3)过度假设是否有助于学习者修正错误的信念？这些研究考察了人们修改与过度假设有关的不正确信息的容易程度(例如，如果一个人第一次看到一只松鼠在吃披萨，当看到关于松鼠吃什么的准确信息时，他们会修改自己的概念吗？)这项研究计划将极大地提高我们关于概念的基础知识，从而为认知科学领域做出贡献。这一结果将使加拿大站在许多基本认知过程研究的前沿，通过提供对人们如何学习和推理的洞察。这些发现还将对包括人工智能在内的其他领域产生影响--通过了解人们是如何获得和使用概念的，将有可能基于对人类概念系统的已知创造出尖端技术。最后，研究结果可能会指导教育环境中的应用干预。研究人员可以利用这些发现来设计教学实践，以支持不同年龄段的人如何学习。

Concepts (i.e., mental representations of categories) are the fundamental building blocks of thought and people use them in a number of ways, including when they learn and when they reason. Surprisingly, children are able to form concepts from experience with a single member of a category (e.g., after seeing just one squirrel eat nuts, they expect that squirrels, in general, will eat nuts). Learning in these situations is challenging, yet children seem to do it with ease. As a result, philosophers have proposed that there must be constraints that guide learning. In my research program, I examine one of these constraints - overhypotheses, which are higher-order generalizations. Learners may use overhypotheses about the characteristic features of general categories (e.g., different kinds of animals have a characteristic diet) to guide expectations when learning about specific categories (e.g., squirrels eat nuts). I address three questions related to the use and acquisition of overhypotheses for real-world categories. In each proposed study, I examine 4- to 8-year-olds' and adults' responses to investigate the developmental trajectory of how people learn and use overhypotheses. 1) In which ways do overhypotheses guide how people reason? I will systematically examine the scope of overhypothesis use. Specifically, I will explore whether they guide (1) the types of information that participants want to learn about an unfamiliar category, (2) the information that people remember about members of a category, and (3) which features people generalize from a single category member to category members at large. 2) How do learners of different ages form overhypotheses? In these studies, I explore whether participants' likelihood of forming an overhypothesis is influenced by the content of the samples provided and the language used to describe features of category members. 3) Do overhypotheses help learners to revise incorrect beliefs? These studies examine how easily people modify information that is incorrect if it is linked to an overhypothesis (e.g., if a person first sees a squirrel eating pizza, do they revise their concept when presented with accurate information about what squirrels eat?). This research program will contribute to the field of cognitive science by significantly advancing our foundational knowledge about concepts. The results will place Canada at the forefront of research on many fundamental cognitive processes by providing insight into how people learn and reason. The findings will also have implications for other fields, including artificial intelligence - by understanding how people acquire and use concepts, it will be possible to create cutting-edge technology based on what is known about the human conceptual system. Finally, the results may guide applied intervention in educational settings. Researchers could use the findings to design pedagogical practices that are tailored to support how people of different ages learn.