How to build a baby: II. Conceptual primitives

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Developmental Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Infants derive meaning from perceptual activity through a unique mechanism.
• This mechanism involves redescribing perceptual information into an image-schematic format.
• Image-schemas are foundational for early concept formation and thought.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the mechanism by which infants derive meaning from perceptual activity.
• To explain how image-schemas facilitate concept formation and preverbal thought.
• To elucidate the role of image-schemas in language acquisition.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of perceptual analysis mechanisms in infants.
• Description of the redescription process into image-schematic format.
• Examination of the nonpropositional, analogical nature of early meanings.

Main Results:

• Infants utilize image-schemas to structure spatial information from objects and movements.
• Image-schemas generate fundamental concepts like animacy, inanimacy, agency, and containment.
• This process simplifies perceptual data, making it accessible for cognitive development.

Conclusions:

• Image-schemas enable preverbal thought by simplifying perceptual information.
• They form a crucial interface between continuous perception and discrete language.
• This mechanism is vital for both early concept formation and subsequent language acquisition.