| Title: |
Children's Understanding of Animal, Plant, and Artifact Properties between 3 and 6 Years |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Fouquet, Nathalie; Megalakaki, Olga; Labrell, Florence |
| Source: |
Infant and Child Development. Nov-Dec 2017 26(6). |
| Availability: |
Wiley-Blackwell. 350 Main Street, Malden, MA 02148. Tel: 800-835-6770; Tel: 781-388-8598; Fax: 781-388-8232; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: http://www.wiley.com/WileyCDA |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
13 |
| Publication Date: |
2017 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: |
Child Development; Cognitive Development; Animals; Plants (Botany); Preschool Children; Young Children; Attribution Theory; Concept Formation; Motion; Nutrition; Cues; Comparative Analysis; Task Analysis; Perception |
| DOI: |
10.1002/icd.2032 |
| ISSN: |
1522-7227 |
| Abstract: |
We investigated the kinds of biological properties that children aged 3-6 years attribute to animals, plants, and artifacts by administering a property attribution task and eliciting explanations for the resulting property attributions. Findings indicated that, from the age of 3 years, children more frequently attribute properties to animals than they do to plants or artifacts. Moreover, attributions increased with age for animals, decreased for artifacts, and remained constant for plants. Concerning the conceptual development of animals and plants, results showed that the properties subtending children's initial conceptualization of animals are movement and nutrition, followed by growth, backed up by perceptual, biological, and categorical explanations. By contrast, for plants, the properties are growth and then movement, backed up by perceptual and biological arguments. These findings provide some support for the idea that both conceptual information and perceptual cues influence children's conceptual development. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2017 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1162656 |
| Database: |
ERIC |