A Shift in the Development of Natural-Kind Categories
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20292987 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert L Campbell (0000-0002-5473-5876, Clemson University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2010 |
| Volume | 35 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 156-164 |
| Publication date | 2010-01-27 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Human Development (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0018-716X • E-ISSN: 1423-0054 |
| Publisher | S. Karger AG (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.1159/000277147 |
| OpenAlex | W2026041161 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
Natural kinds are categories whose superficial distinguishing characteristics are tied together or explained by deeper causal mechanisms. Treating a category as a natural-kind category requires giving priority to more fundamental properties when deciding membership and recognizing a ‘promissory note’ for a deeper explanation, even if none is currently known. Although young children can form and use categories that happen to be natural-kind categories, they cannot treat them as such until after age 4.I describe a number of related shifts – in inferences about hierarchically-related classes, in causal reasoning, and in the child’s understanding of mind – and propose an explanation of all of these shifts as transitions from the first to the second interactive knowing level. I then consider the ability of some other developmental frameworks to give a coherent account of such changes
Categorization · Cognitive psychology · Concept learning · Developmental psychology · Epistemology · Geography · Natural (archaeology) · Natural kind · Child and Animal Learning Development · Cognitive Science and Mapping · Education and Critical Thinking Development · Philosophy · Psychology
| Citations per year | 0.15 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 1992 - 2008 (17) |
| Highly cited | No |