Children and Adults Learn Family-Resemblance Categories Analytically

Abstract

3 experiments examined the modes of processing used by children and adults in learning family-resemblance categories. The materials were cartoon faces (Experiments 1 and 2) and bugs (Experiment 3) divided into categories that possessed no single defining attributes, but rather several characteristic attributes that were each partially predictive of category membership. The categories were structured so that a holistic mode of processing in which the individual did not selectively weight any given attributes could have led to success. Nevertheless, preschoolers (Experiments 2 and 3), first and third graders (Experiment 1), and adult college students (all experiments) all exhibited primarily analytic modes of learning that consisted of single- and dual-attribute approaches. Although the proportion of analytic learners among the preschoolers was lower than among the adults in Experiment 3, in no case were holistic modes of learning evident. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for young children's apparent relative success in learning natural categories. It is suggested that children's success in learning real-world categories may be based, in part, on an interaction between a basically analytic processing style and natural category structures that provide many partially informative attributes.

The time course of explicit and implicit categorization

“…Huang-Pollock, Maddox, and Karalunas (2011) recently showed that children have greater difficulty than adults transitioning from one-dimensional, rule-based strategies to the appropriate information integration approach. This recent finding complements previous work of Ward and Scott (1987; see also Ward, 1988; Ward, Vela, & Hass, 1990) who studied category learning by young children and found that they were sometimes engaged not in holistic processing but in perseveratively analytic processing, Likewise, Smith and Shapiro (1989) studied adults’ speeded category learning. They found that speeded conditions sometimes produced narrow, rigid analysis, as participants chose any attribute in a temporal storm and stuck to it rigidly despite the errors it caused.…”

Dimensional Strategies Dominate Perceptual Classification

“…Furthermore, using a concept-learning task, Ward, Vela, and Duffin Hass (1990) found that preschool children, elementary children, and adults learned family-resemblance categories with single-and dual-attribute analytic modes. They state that "there are no results from the present studies that suggest that holistic modes of learning by young children are likely to be observed" (p. 603).…”

When Experimental Findings Conflict with Everyday Observations: Reflections on Children's Category Learning

“…'^-For this reason. Ward and Scott (1987) and Ward et al (1990) are not correct in asserting that the holistic processing proposal necessarily implies that more younger children than older individvials will show the "holistic" test-trial pattern. Such a result would be consistent with the holistic processing proposal, but is nof demanded by if.…”

“…Representations of both category learning tasks are shown in Figure 1. Ward, Vela, and Hass (1990) coirectly identify anotber explanation for the finding that young children learn Kemler Nelson s family-resemblance task as' easily as they do. In this task, paying attention to any one of the stimulus variables will result in some learning.…”