CHILDRENS USE OF SHAPE IN EXTENDING NOVEL LABELS TO ANIMATE OBJECTS - IDENTITY VERSUS POSTURAL CHANGE

The young child's evident tendency to extend category labels on the basis of overall shape could facilitate learning of basic level categories. However, a rigid reliance on shape could be counterproductive because postural changes of an animal produce superficial changes in shape that are unrelated to its identity. The present study examined the ability of preschoolers and college students to ignore postural variation when making category judgments. Participants heard a novel label for a flat snakelike creature and then decided whether or not other flat snakelike, curled snakelike, and snaillike creatures should also receive the label. The outline shapes of the curled and snaillike creatures were identical to one another ano quite different from the flat creatures. All age groups accepted flat and, to a lesser extent, curled creatures, but were much less likely to accept snaillike creatures. Even preschoolers distinguish shape differences that are related to category membership from those that indicate temporary postural changes. © 1991.