The labels used to describe patterns and relations can influence children's relational reasoning. In this study, 62 preschoolers (M[subscript age] = 4.4 years) solved and described eight pattern abstraction problems (i.e., recreated the relation in a model pattern using novel materials). Some children were exposed to concrete labels (e.g.,…

Addresses the respective roles of prototypes and specific exemplars in children's categorization behavior. The ability of children and adults to abstract and recognize figural prototypes was examined using a prototype-plus-distortions design. (Author/RH)

To determine whether infants can form face expression categories, groups of infants 18 to 24 weeks old, along with those 30 weeks old, were habituated by the infant control procedure to photographs of four different female faces, each with an identical expression (happiness or surprise). Results are discussed in terms of age and sex differences.…

Examined the nature of perceptual classification in children and young adults. Found that most children attend selectively to one stimulus dimension when making perceptual classification judgments. Suggests that this developmental trend does not appear to be a holistic-to-analytic shift but rather a trend toward greater consistency in following a…

Two experiments investigated perceptual primacy of dimensional and similarity relations in stimulus classification of mentally retarded children. Results support a distinction between separable and integral stimulus structures, but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Results suggest implications for…