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Conceptual C hange S usan Carey in C hildhood Conceptual Change in Childhood /m The MIT Press Series in Learning, Development, and Conceptual Change Lila Gleitman, Susan Carey, Elissa Newport, and Elizabeth Spelke, editors Names for Things: A Study in Human Learning, by John Macnamara, 1982 Conceptual Change in Childhood, by Susan Carey, 1985 “Gavagai!" or the Future History of the Animal Language Controversy, by David Premack, 1986 Systems That Learn: An Introduction to Learning Theory for Cognitive and Computer Scientists, by Daniel N. Osherson, Scott Weinstein, and Michael Stob, 1986 Conceptual Change in Childhood A Bradford Book The MIT Press Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England Susan Carey © 1985 by The Massachusetts Institute of Technology All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopying, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permission in writing from the publisher. This book was set in VIP Times by Village Typographers, Inc., and printed and bound by Halliday Lithograph, in the United States of America. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Carey, Susan. Conceptual change in childhood. (MIT Press series in learning, development, and conceptual change) “ A Bradford book.” Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Cognition in children. I. Title. II. Series. BF723.C5C365 1985 155.4' 13 85-7720 ISBN 0-262-03110-8 ISBN 0-262-53073-2 (Paperback) For my parents, William, Mary, and Joan Series Foreword xi Acknowledgments Introduction xiii 1 Research Methods Conclusions Chapter 1 What Is Alive? 15 8 12 A Close Look at the Published Data: Single-Criterion Definitions 20 Experiment 1: A Replication of Laurendeau and Pinard 23 Experiment 2: Removing the Trap of Conscious Criterion Building 36 Conclusions Chapter 2 The Human Body 41 39 People's Insides 42 Bodily Functions: The Digestive System 43 Bodily Functions: The Circulatory System 46 Bodily Functions: The Respiratory System 47 Conclusions: Digestion, Circulation, Respiration 47 viii Contents Bodily Functions: The Nervous System 48 Summary: Bodily Functions 51 Gender and Gender Constancy Reproduction Death 54 60 Growth and Personal Identity Conclusions Chapter 3 The Biological Concept Animal 72 51 65 69 Experiment 1: Attribution of Animal Properties 77 Experiment 2: Further Constraints on a Model 87 Experiment 3: From Properties to Animals 102 Experiment 4: Similarity Judgments 105 Conclusions Chapter 4 The Projection of Spleen (Omentum) 111 109 _____________________________ Experiment: Patterns of Projection 113 Procedure Results 114 116 Conclusions 135 ( liuptrr 5 Projection of I*roperties of Two Oh)c« t* MO Experiment 1: Projection of Spleens (Omenta) from Dogs and Bees 142 Experiment 2: Projection of Golgi from Animals and Plants 149 Conclusions 160 Contents IX Chapter 6 Matters of Ontology 162 Ontologically Basic Categories 162 Animal and Plant Species as Natural Kinds 171 Chapter 7 Conclusions 181 Summary of Results 181 Restructuring in What Sense? 186 Implications for Child Development 190 Constraints on Induction Conceptual Change 194 197 Explanations of Development 199 Theory-like Conceptual Structures 200 Appendix Notes 213 References Index 203