Effects of generic language on category content and structure.

Cognitive Psychology
Susan A GelmanFelicia Kleinberg

Abstract

We hypothesized that generic noun phrases ("Bears climb trees") would provide important input to children's developing concepts. In three experiments, four-year-olds and adults learned a series of facts about a novel animal category, in one of three wording conditions: generic (e.g., "Zarpies hate ice cream"), specific-label (e.g., "This zarpie hates ice cream"), or no-label (e.g., "This hates ice cream"). Participants completed a battery of tasks assessing the extent to which they linked the category to the properties expressed, and the extent to which they treated the category as constituting an essentialized kind. As predicted, for adults, generics training resulted in tighter category-property links and more category essentialism than both the specific-label and no-label training. Children also showed effects of generic wording, though the effects were weaker and required more extensive input. We discuss the implications for language-thought relations, and for the acquisition of essentialized categories.

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Citations

Aug 8, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Marjorie RhodesChristina M Tworek
Oct 3, 2012·Trends in Cognitive Sciences·Sandra R Waxman
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Jan 20, 2015·Cognitive Development·Selin Gülgöz, Susan A Gelman
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Mar 23, 2017·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Lin Bian, Andrei Cimpian
Jul 26, 2017·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Susan A Gelman, Steven O Roberts
Feb 6, 2019·Psychological Science·Marjorie RhodesKatya Saunders
Nov 13, 2014·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Susan A Gelman, Meredith Meyer
Dec 31, 2014·The Behavioral and Brain Sciences·Andrei Cimpian, Erika Salomon
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Oct 27, 2020·Annual Review of Developmental Psychology·Marjorie Rhodes, Andrew Baron
May 31, 2017·Journal of Experimental Child Psychology·Ariana OrvellSusan A Gelman

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