Early Category and Concept Development

by David H. Rakison

Overview

"This is the first book devoted entirely to the development of categorization and conceptual abilities during the first years of life, a central topic in developmental psychology and cognitive science. Rakison and Oakes have brought together the leading investigators of categorization of speech, visual-spatial patterns, objects, and of animals. Also included are theoretical chapters on the development of categorization, both from connectionist and from more rationalist perspectives. Providing an overview of the research in the field during the past 25 years, this volume highlights current issues under debate, describes the most exciting and influential theories currently in the field, and acts as a guide to future research endeavors."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2900195142944
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	12/30/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	464
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 1.25(h) x 9.00(d)

Table of Contents

Foreword: Categories, Cognitive Development, and Cognitive Science, Frank C. KeilPrefaceAcknowledgmentsContributors1. Issues in the Early Development of Concepts and Categories: An Introduction, Lisa M. Oakes and David H. RakisonPART I. CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIES BEFORE THE EMERGENCE OF LANGUAGE2. Chunking Language Input to Find Patterns, Peter W. Jusczyk3. Concepts Are Not Just for Objects: Categorization of Spatial Relation Information by Infants, Paul C. Quinn4. Parsing Objects into Categories: Infants' Perception and Use of Correlated Attributes, Barbara A. Younger5. Conceptual Categorization, Jean M. Mandler6. Principles of Developmental Change in Infants' Category Formation, Lisa M. Oakes and Kelly L. Madole7. Parts, Motion, and the Development of the Animate-Inanimate Distinction in Infancy, David H. Rakison8. Commentary on Part I: Unresolved Issues in Infant Categorization, Leslie B. CohenPART II: CONCEPTS AND CATEGORIES DURING EARLY LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT9. Links between Object Categorization and Naming: Origins and Emergence in Human Infants, Sandra R. Waxman10. Transaction of Child Cognitive-Linguistic Abilities and Adult Input in the Acquisition of Lexical Categories at the Basic and Subordinate Levels, Carolyn B. Mervis, John R. Pani, and Ariel M. Pani11. Making an Ontology: Cross-linguistic Evidence, Linda B. Smith, Eliana Colunga, and Hanako Yoshida12. Words, Kinds, and Causal Powers: A Theory Theory Perspective on Early Naming and Categorization, Alison Gopnik and Thierry Nazzi13. Theory-Based Categorization in Early Childhood, Susan A. Gelman and Melissa A. Koenig14. The Acquisition and Use of Implicit Categories in Early Development, Denis Mareschal15. Commentary on Part II: Abilities and Assumptions Underlying Conceptual Development, Ellen M. Markman and Vikram K. Jaswal16. Final Commentary: Conceptual Development from Origins to Asymptotes, Robert L. Goldstone and Mark K. JohansenAuthor IndexSubject Index

Editorial Reviews

"This clearly written and well-edited book adds to the chorus of opinion that might inform answers to those questions plaguing the study of reality and its construction. This book is a must-read for those who study human categorization and conceptualization. It offers an up-to-date and well-argued compendium of opinion and research from the finest minds in developmental psychology, and illuminates the current status of the empiricist-rationalist debate within psychology."-Shannon M. Pruden, Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, & Julia Parish, Philosophical Psychology

From the Publisher