Category Markers or Attributes

To clarify the role of labels in early induction, we compared 16-month-old infants' (n = 114) generalization of target properties to test objects when objects were introduced by the experimenter in one of the following ways: (a) with a general attentional phrase, (b) highlighted with a flashlight and a general attentional phrase, (c) via a recorded voice that labeled the objects using a naming phrase, (d) with a label consisting of a count noun embedded within a naming phrase, (e) with a label consisting of a single word that was not marked as belonging to a particular grammatical form class, and (f) with a label consisting of an adjective. Infants relied on object labels to guide their inductive inferences only when the labels were presented referentially, embedded within an intentional naming phrase, and marked as count nouns. These results suggest that infants do not view labels as attributes of objects; rather, infants understand that count-noun labels are intentional markers denoting category membership.

[1]  Brooke Noel Moore.  Critical thinking : evaluating claims and arguments in everyday life / Brooke Noel Moore, Richard Parker , 1986 .

[2]  E. Markman,et al.  Categories and induction in young children , 1986, Cognition.

[3]  E. Markman,et al.  Categories and induction in young children , 1986, Cognition.

[4]  E. Markman,et al.  Young children's inductions from natural kinds: the role of categories and appearances. , 1987, Child development.

[5]  E. Markman,et al.  Young children's inductions from natural kinds: the role of categories and appearances. , 1987, Child development.

[6]  Linda B. Smith,et al.  The importance of shape in early lexical learning , 1988 .

[7]  Linda B. Smith,et al.  The importance of shape in early lexical learning , 1988 .

[8]  Robert Cogan,et al.  Critical Thinking: Evaluating Claims and Arguments in Everyday Life , 1988 .

[9]  Dare A. Baldwin,et al.  Establishing word-object relations: a first step. , 1989, Child development.

[10]  Dare A. Baldwin,et al.  Establishing word-object relations: a first step. , 1989, Child development.

[11]  S. Gelman,et al.  The importance of knowing a dodo is a bird: Categories and infer - ences in two - year olds , 1990 .

[12]  Linda B. Smith,et al.  Syntactic context and the shape bias in children's and adults' lexical learning , 1992 .

[13]  Linda B. Smith,et al.  Syntactic context and the shape bias in children's and adults' lexical learning , 1992 .

[14]  Dare A. Baldwin,et al.  Infants' ability to draw inferences about nonobvious object properties: evidence from exploratory play. , 1993, Child development.

[15]  Dare A. Baldwin,et al.  Infants' ability to draw inferences about nonobvious object properties: evidence from exploratory play. , 1993, Child development.

[16]  Sandra R. Waxman,et al.  Words as Invitations to Form Categories: Evidence from 12- to 13-Month-Old Infants , 1995, Cognitive Psychology.

[17]  Sandra R. Waxman,et al.  Words as Invitations to Form Categories: Evidence from 12- to 13-Month-Old Infants , 1995, Cognitive Psychology.

[18]  Dare A. Baldwin,et al.  Infants' reliance on a social criterion for establishing word-object relations. , 1996, Child development.

[19]  Dare A. Baldwin,et al.  Infants' reliance on a social criterion for establishing word-object relations. , 1996, Child development.

[20]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  How much does a shared name make things similar? Part 1. Linguistic labels and the development of similarity judgment. , 1999, Developmental psychology.

[21]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  How much does a shared name make things similar? Part 1. Linguistic labels and the development of similarity judgment. , 1999, Developmental psychology.

[22]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  How much does a shared name make things similar? Linguistic labels, similarity, and the development of inductive inference. , 2001, Child development.

[23]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  How much does a shared name make things similar? Linguistic labels, similarity, and the development of inductive inference. , 2001, Child development.

[24]  S. Graham,et al.  The influence of shape similarity and shared labels on infants' inductive inferences about nonobvious object properties. , 2001, Child development.

[25]  S. Graham,et al.  The influence of shape similarity and shared labels on infants' inductive inferences about nonobvious object properties. , 2001, Child development.

[26]  S. Waxman,et al.  Object names and object functions serve as cues to categories for infants. , 2002, Developmental psychology.

[27]  S. Waxman,et al.  Object names and object functions serve as cues to categories for infants. , 2002, Developmental psychology.

[28]  Fei Xu.  The role of language in acquiring object kind concepts in infancy , 2002, Cognition.

[29]  Fei Xu.  The role of language in acquiring object kind concepts in infancy , 2002, Cognition.

[30]  A. L. Campbell,et al.  The role of social-referential context in verbal and nonverbal symbol learning. , 2003, Child development.

[31]  A. L. Campbell,et al.  The role of social-referential context in verbal and nonverbal symbol learning. , 2003, Child development.

[32]  S. Gelman,et al.  The Essential Child : Origins of Essentialism in Everyday Thought , 2003 .

[33]  S. Gelman,et al.  The Essential Child : Origins of Essentialism in Everyday Thought , 2003 .

[34]  Vladimir M. Sloutsky,et al.  When Development and Learning Decrease Memory , 2004, Psychological science.

[35]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  Induction and categorization in young children: a similarity-based model. , 2004, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[36]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  Induction and categorization in young children: a similarity-based model. , 2004, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[37]  V. Jaswal,et al.  Don't believe everything you hear: preschoolers' sensitivity to speaker intent in category induction. , 2004, Child development.

[38]  V. Jaswal,et al.  Don't believe everything you hear: preschoolers' sensitivity to speaker intent in category induction. , 2004, Child development.

[39]  Cari S. Kilbreath,et al.  Thirteen-month-olds rely on shared labels and shape similarity for inductive inferences. , 2004, Child development.

[40]  Cari S. Kilbreath,et al.  Thirteen-month-olds rely on shared labels and shape similarity for inductive inferences. , 2004, Child development.

[41]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  When induction meets memory: evidence for gradual transition from similarity-based to category-based induction. , 2005, Child development.

[42]  V. Sloutsky,et al.  When induction meets memory: evidence for gradual transition from similarity-based to category-based induction. , 2005, Child development.

[43]  Susan A. Gelman,et al.  Looking beyond looks: Comments on Sloutsky, Kloos, and Fisher, “When looks are everything: Appearance similarity versus kind information in early induction” , 2006 .

[44]  Heidi Kloos,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article When Looks Are Everything Appearance Similarity Versus Kind Information in Early Induction , 2022 .

[45]  Cari S. Kilbreath,et al.  It's a sign of the kind: gestures and words guide infants' inductive inferences. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[46]  Cari S. Kilbreath,et al.  It's a sign of the kind: gestures and words guide infants' inductive inferences. , 2007, Developmental psychology.

[47]  S. Waxman,et al.  Looking Beyond Looks , 2007, Psychological science.

[48]  S. Waxman,et al.  Looking Beyond Looks , 2007, Psychological science.

[49]  Anne L. Fulkerson,et al.  Words (but not Tones) facilitate object categorization: Evidence from 6- and 12-month-olds , 2007, Cognition.

[50]  Anne L. Fulkerson,et al.  Words (but not Tones) facilitate object categorization: Evidence from 6- and 12-month-olds , 2007, Cognition.

[51]  E. Markman,et al.  Looks Aren't Everything: 24-Month-Olds' Willingness to Accept Unexpected Labels , 2007 .

[52]  E. Markman,et al.  Looks Aren't Everything: 24-Month-Olds' Willingness to Accept Unexpected Labels , 2007 .