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Updated: Aug 12, 2026
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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
Infants' attention to object structure in early categorization
1Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin. rakison@psy.utexas.edu
Developmental Psychology
|November 21, 1998
Summary
Infants aged 14-22 months use object structure and parts for categorization, not texture. This developmental study reveals early perceptual constraints in how babies form categories.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Cognitive Science
- Perception
Background:
- Early categorization skills are foundational for cognitive development.
- Understanding how infants process object structure informs theories of perceptual development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of object structure and parts in categorization for infants aged 14-22 months.
- To determine if infants attend to object texture during categorization tasks.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments utilized object-manipulation tasks with varying object structures (normal, altered configurations, orientations).
- Categorization of animals, vehicles, and furniture was assessed across different age groups.
- Experiment 3 specifically examined infants' attention to object texture.
Main Results:
- Infants aged 14-22 months utilize object parts and structural configuration for categorization.
- Infants did not demonstrate attention to object texture for categorization purposes.
- Findings suggest a perceptual basis for superordinate-level categorization in early development.
Conclusions:
- Early categorization abilities are influenced by an infant's focus on object parts and structural integrity.
- Infants' perceptual systems are constrained in recognizing specific parts and structures during categorization.
- Developmental research highlights the importance of structural information in infant object categorization.
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