title: Infants can rapidly form new categorical representations.
abstract: Young infants learn common categorical distinctions, such as animals versus vehicles. But can they, like adults, rapidly form new categories, such as black-and-white animals? To answer this question, 6-, 10-, and 13-month-old infants were familiarized with four land animals that were black and white in coloring (e.g., a zebra and a black-and-white tiger) and then were tested with novel animals and a truck. The infants responded to an exclusive category that apparently included only black-and-white animals, suggesting that they formed a new categorical representation during familiarization. A comparison group of infants familiarized with a set of land animals that were more variable in coloring (e.g., a pale yellow horse and a yellow-and-brown tiger) formed a very general categorical representation that included many different kinds of animals, regardless of coloring. Therefore, like adults, infants rapidly form new categorical representations in response to the context.
authors.affiliation: University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
authors.forename: Rebecca J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Ribar
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Oakes
authors.forename: Thomas L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Spalding
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D003210:Concept Formation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007858:Learning; D008297:Male