| Literature DB >> 17331491 |
Yvonne M Asher1, Deborah G Kemler Nelson.
Abstract
Do young children who seek the conceptual kind of an artifact weigh the plausibility that a current function constitutes the function intended by the object designer? Three- and four-year-olds were encouraged to question adults about novel artifacts. After inquiring about what an object was, some children were shown a function that plausibly accounted for the structural features of the object; others were shown a possible, but implausible function. Children given implausible functions were less satisfied with these responses than those given plausible functions, as shown by their more persistent attempts to ask follow-up questions about function. Accordingly, preschoolers appear to take into account matters of intentional design when assigning artifacts to conceptual kinds.Entities:
Mesh:
Year: 2007 PMID: 17331491 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2007.01.007
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Cognition ISSN: 0010-0277