Structure Mapping for Social Learning.
Analogical reasoning is a foundational tool for human learning, allowing learners to recognize relational structures in new events and domains. Here I sketch some grounds for understanding and applying analogical reasoning in social learning. The social world is fundamentally characterized by relations between people, with common relational structures-such as kinships and social hierarchies-forming social units that dictate social behaviors. Just as young learners use analogical reasoning for learning relational structures in other domains-spatial relations, verbs, relational categories-analogical reasoning ought to be a useful cognitive tool for acquiring social relations and structures.
Department of Psychology, Swarthmore College.
Stella
S
Christie
D032882:Comprehension; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D000067570:Social Learning; D013850:Thinking
Analogy; Cognitive development; Comparison; Learning; Relational thinking; Social cognition