Development of decontextualization in object naming

Abstract

The first experiment in this paper investigated the influence of the environmental context on the naming practices of children for common objects. The answers of 70 children (2–6 years) to questions regarding 10 pairs of pictures were analyzed. One of the pictures in a pair showed a common object in an appropriate context, while the other showed the same object in an inappropriate context. The results showed that the environmental context affected the naming practices of children for common objects, sometimes to such a high degree that it dominated the perceptual appearance of the object. This effect was about the same for the ages 2–5 years, but significantly lower for the 6-year-olds. Adults' performance on the same task was studied in a second experiment, and was found to be about the same as for the 6-year-olds. The validity of the material was tested in a third experiment and was found to be satisfactory. The results were interpreted as a support for Nelson's functional theory of concept formation, both regarding the importance of the functional relationships in which objects take part, as well as to the age of when decontextualization of these tarms are to be expected.