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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jul 24, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

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

Children's use of comparison and function in novel object categorization.

Katherine Kimura¹, Samuel B Hunley², Laura L Namy²

¹Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, United States.

Journal of Experimental Child Psychology

|February 25, 2018

Summary

Children learn to categorize new objects by comparing familiar examples, especially when function is highlighted. This comparison helps them identify subtle relational features crucial for understanding categories.

Keywords:

Categorization Comparison Familiar object categories Function Novel objects Perceptual similarity

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Last Updated: Jul 24, 2026

Experience is Instrumental in Tuning a Link Between Language and Cognition: Evidence from 6- to 7- Month-Old Infants' Object Categorization

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Published on: April 19, 2017

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Published on: November 20, 2018

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Defining the Role Of Language in Infants' Object Categorization with Eye-tracking Paradigms

Published on: February 8, 2019

Area of Science:

Developmental Psychology
Cognitive Science
Child Development

Background:

Young children initially use obvious perceptual cues (e.g., shape) for object categorization.
Development involves a shift towards more complex relational reasoning for category membership.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the information sources young children utilize for classifying novel objects.
To examine how comparing familiar category instances and attending to function aids novel categorization.

Main Methods:

Two experiments were conducted involving young children.
Children were presented with familiar category instances for comparison, with varying emphasis on function.
Categorization of novel instances was assessed.

Main Results:

Comparing perceptually similar category members facilitated the discovery of non-obvious relational features.
Highlighting function information alongside comparison further enhanced children's ability to identify relevant relational structures.
These findings supported the categorization of novel instances.

Conclusions:

Comparison of familiar exemplars aids novel object categorization in young children.
Attention to function information enhances the effectiveness of comparison by highlighting relevant relational features.
Relational reasoning is supported by comparative processes that make subtle, functionally relevant structures more salient.