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Sučević, Jelena, Althaus, Nadja 
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4888-1508 and Plunkett, Kim
(2022)
Discovering category boundaries: The role of comparison in infants' novel category learning.
Infancy, 27 (3).
pp. 533-554.
ISSN 1525-0008
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Abstract
A key question in categorization is how infants extract regularities from the exemplars they encounter. Detecting similarities and dissimilarities across items is vital in order to determine category-relevant features. Previous research found evidence that infants acquire a single category more easily with paired presentations in comparison with single presentations (Oakes & Ribar, 2005, Infancy, 7, 85; Oakes & Kovack-Lesh, 2007, Cogniție, Creier, Comportament / Cognition, Brain, Behavior, XI, 661). Here, we focus on infants’ acquisition of a category contrast, that is, when they are exposed to two categories. In an eye-tracking study, we examined 10-month-old infants’ ability to learn two novel visual categories when presented with one item at a time and with items in pairs. Infants were familiarized with pairs of items from the same category or with pairs of items from different categories (cross-category pairs). Using a linear model with a priori contrasts, we show that infants’ learning is directly related to the opportunity for category comparison: There is no evidence of category learning in the single-item condition, improved performance when familiarized with same-category pairs, and finally robust category learning when familiarized with cross-category pairs. We conclude that comparison which involves items from different categories promotes category formation, by highlighting differences and promoting a discovery of category boundaries.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | infancy,categorization,eye tracking,developmental and educational psychology,experimental and cognitive psychology,3* ,/dk/atira/pure/subjectarea/asjc/3200/3204 |
| Faculty \ School: | Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Psychology |
| UEA Research Groups: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Developmental Science |
| Related URLs: | |
| Depositing User: | LivePure Connector |
| Date Deposited: | 07 Feb 2022 10:30 |
| Last Modified: | 23 Oct 2022 03:31 |
| URI: | https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/83317 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/infa.12459 |
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