Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 9, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization
Published on: April 19, 2017
The Development of Preschoolers' Living Kinds Concept: A Longitudinal Study
Tessa Margett-Jordan1, Rachael G Falcon2, David C Witherington2
1Grand Valley State University.
Abstract:
Given limitations in the integrative scope of past research, basic questions about the organization and development of preschoolers' living kinds concept remain open to debate. This study was designed to address past limitations through use of a longitudinal design, extensive stimulus set, and alternate indices of understanding. Thirty-five English-speaking 3-year-olds from middle-class families in Albuquerque, NM participated in four testing sessions over 1 year. Indices of understanding included statements that preschoolers generated about various living and nonliving objects, biological properties they attributed to the objects, and their characterization of objects as "alive" or not. Results reveal a multifaceted picture of developmental change in preschoolers' living kinds concept involving both the construction and elaboration of a core biological understanding.
Related Concept Videos
Longitudinal Research
The Nativist Approach
Self-Concept
Infancy and Emerging Recognition
During infancy, self-concept is virtually nonexistent. Babies do not distinguish themselves as separate entities and often mistake their...
Piaget's Stage 1 of Cognitive Development
Exploration...
Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development from Childhood into Adulthood
Schemata: Building Blocks of Knowledge
Longitudinal Studies

