Remembering kinds: New evidence that categories are privileged in children’s thinking

What are the representations and learning mechanisms that underlie conceptual development? The present research provides evidence in favor of the claim that this process is guided by an early-emerging predisposition to think and learn about abstract kinds. Specifically, three studies (N = 192) demonstrated that 4- to 7-year-old children have better recall for novel information about kinds (e.g., that dogs catch a bug called “fep”) than for similar information about individuals (e.g., that a particular dog catches a bug called “fep”). By showing that children are particularly likely to retain information about kinds, this work not only provides a first empirical demonstration of a phenomenon that may be key to conceptual development but also makes it apparent that young children’s thinking is suffused with abstractions rather than being perceptually-based and concrete.

► What are the learning mechanisms that underlie conceptual development?. ► We argued for an early predisposition to think and learn about abstract kinds. ► We predicted that children would have better memory for kinds than for individuals. ► 3 studies showed an advantage for facts about kinds in 4- to 7-year-olds’ memory. ► This memory bias towards kinds may be vital to conceptual development.