Beyond Labeling The Role of Maternal Input in the Acquisition of Richly Structured Categories

by Gelman, Susan

• ISBN13: 9780631224587
• ISBN10: 0631224580
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1991-01-16
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

Recent research shows that pre-school children are skilled classifiers, using categories to organize information and extend knowledge. Focusing on the role of maternal input, this monograph provides one of the first detailed examinations of how mothers convey information about category structure to their children.

Author Biography

Susan A. Gelman is currently Heinz Werner Distinguished University Professor of psychology and linguistics and the director of the Conceptual Development Laboratory at the University of Michigan.

Table of Contents

Abstract	v
Introduction	1	(17)
Design, Methods, and Descriptive Overview	18	(17)
Taxonomic Versus Thematic Language	35	(42)
Category Generalizations (Including Generics and Explicit Quantifiers)	77	(15)
Domain-Specific Properties	92	(12)
Gestures	104	(11)
Familiarity Effects	115	(6)
General Discussion	121	(15)
Appendix: Supplementary Ratings of Picture Books Used in Studies 1 and 3	136	(4)
References	140	(8)
Acknowledgments	148	(1)
Commentary Words, Moms, and Things: Language as a Road Map to Reality	149	(9)
Frank C. Keil
Contributors	158	(1)
Statement of Editorial Policy	159