SIMILARITY-BASED AND NONSIMILARITY-BASED CONCEPTUALIZATION IN CHILDREN AND PIGEONS

Authors including Lea (1984) have recently argued that true conceptual behavior is not based solely on perceptual similarity. We have developed a method for assessing nonsimilarity-based conceptualization in children that parallels an effective method for pigeons. This method has provided evidence that both species form classes of functionally equivalent, but perceptually different stimuli. Children and pigeons are thus capable of similarity-based and nonsimilarity-based conceptualization; in the former case differential reinforcement may be said to disclose preexisting concepts, whereas in the latter it may be said to produce new ones. The similarity of pigeons' and children's categorization behavior suggests that linguistic ability is not necessary for conceptualization.