Three studies explored whether children's tendency to extend object names on the basis of sameness of shape (shape bias) is specific to naming. Findings indicated that 2- and 3-year-olds showed shape bias both when asked to extend a novel name and when asked to select an object of the same kind as a target object; 3-year-olds also showed shape…

Looking times of 36 children were recorded during subject-controlled presentation of slides in order to determine whether the existence of simple categories in 3-year-olds can be inferred from habituation data, and to determine any sex differences in conceptual generalization of habituation. Habituation was demonstrated over repeated presentation…

Tested a normally developing child several times between 16 and 27 months of age for his ability to derive the relations between stimuli. Found that the child derived "mutual entailment" relations and showed "nonverbal exclusion" as early as 17 months. "Combinatorial entailment" relations and "verbal…

The effect of stimulus familiarity on the comprehension of polar adjectives by preschool children was examined by administering a perceptual judgment task. The children's ability to indicate the correct object illustrating a particular word was assessed. Antonyms representing opposite dimensions of quantity, height, length, or size were presented.…