Children's use of perceptual cues in product categorization

Abstract

AbstractThis study examines how young children use perceptual cues in categorizing products. Specifically, we examine the notion that young children use perceptual cues in a more informed fashion than is generally assumed by traditional viewpoints on cognitive development. Data from the three age groups—four‐ and five‐year‐olds, six‐ and seven‐year‐olds, and adults—confirm that even young children can use perceptual cues in a manner that is diagnostic of product category membership and that this ability increases with age.