Age-specific and neurological aspects of the ability to form concepts of different complexity in 3–5-year-old children

Abstract

The ability to identify common features of objects and relationships among them and to perceive relative similarities in different situations allow children to quickly learn new material. The development of these skills in preschool age is not fully understood. In particular, the abilities to form relative concepts based on one or several features of objects and ability to act by analogy have not been studied in 3–5-year-old children. Furthermore, the influence of mild neurological disorders on building these abilities has not been studied properly either. The goal of this research was to study the ability of 3–5-year-old children to independently form empirical concepts based on relations among objects and to evaluate the effects of the following factors: (1) the number of features (one/two features); (2) the age of the child (3–4 vs. 4–5 years); (3) the neurological profile of the participants. The number of features that had to be taken into account to successfully identify relationships between objects was found to have a significant effect on the speed of concept production and the ability to judge by analogy. Indeed, 3–5-year-old children found concepts based on two features more difficult compared to those based on one feature. A standardised neurological examination was used to divide the participants of the study into groups with a 3:2:1 ratio according to the severity of their minor neurological dysfunction (MND): those without MND, MND-1 and MND-2. When analysing the time it takes children to form concepts and the ability to act by analogy, no difference was observed in different age groups within the 3–5 range (3–4 vs. 4–5). It was, however, observed that the extent of MND has an impact on the ability to form complex two-feature concepts. Thus, the study of cognitive functions at the age of 3–5 years, together with a detailed standardised neurological examination, makes it possible to predict potential cognitive and behavioural deviations at an older age.

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