Where Do Taxonomic Categories Come from?

Abstract

This article addresses young children’s acquisition of knowledge of hierarchically organized taxonomic categories. It sets forth the proposal that children first form categories of objects that can substitute for one another within slots in events: slot-filler categories. These categories are experientially based and context-restricted, but can be labelled by superordinate terms. They form the basis for the acquisition of general superordinate categories based on hierarchical inclusion relations. Experimental research with preschool and early school-aged children using a number of different paradigms is reviewed in support of this proposal. A theoretical progression in the development of superordinate categorical knowledge is proposed.

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