Shape bias special section: The shape of thought

  • Lori Markson
  • , Gil Diesendruck
  • , Paul Bloom

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

39 Scopus citations

Abstract

When children learn the name of a novel object, they tend to extend that name to other objects similar in shape - a phenomenon referred to as the shape bias. Does the shape bias stem from learned associations between names and categories of objects, or does it derive from more general properties of children's understanding of language and the world? We argue here for the second alternative, presenting evidence that the shape bias emerges early in development, is not limited to names, and is intimately related to how children make sense of categories.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)204-208
Number of pages5
JournalDevelopmental Science
Volume11
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2008

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Shape bias special section: The shape of thought'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this