Two Measures of Category Breadth

Age, Sex, Examiner Differences and Intercorrelations

Dados Bibliográficos

ID13664840
AutoresWalter E Penk (0000-0002-4175-5624, United States Department of Veterans Affairs, autor correspondente), Walter Penk (Veterans Administration Hospital, Dallas, Texas)
Ano1969
Volume25
Fascículo3
Páginas859-870
Data de publicação1969-12-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessSim
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoPsychological Reports (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0033-2941 • E-ISSN: 1558-691X
EditoraSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2466/pr0.1969.25.3.859
OpenAlexW2037645179
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas2
Referências citadas16

Two measures of category breadth—an adaptation of Pettigrew's (1958) Category-width scale and a learning task called poggles (Wallach & Caron, 1959)—were administered in a battery to 100 children, ages 7 to 11, grades 2 to 6. Sex differences were not replicated. Significant age differences occurred. The two measures of category breadth evidenced different growth patterns: one measure followed a linear decline combined with a resurgence of means; the other measure showed a U-shaped quadratic trend indicating that youngest and oldest children used broader category breadths than intermediate-aged children. Examiner differences were not significant. Intercorrelations suggested that test correlates and behavioral referents of category breadth necessitated redefinition or elaboration. While broader categorization may continue to be defined as high tolerance for deviant instances in psychological similarity, it is not associated with the converse—high tolerance for nondeviant instances. Specifically, broad categorization negatively related to measures of comparatively mature levels of verbal abstractions

Adaptation (eye · Categorization · Converse · Developmental psychology · Similarity (geometry · Categorization, perception, and language · Child and Animal Learning Development · Cognitive and psychological constructs research · Mathematics · Psychology · Social Psychology