Development of Inductive Generalization

Abstract

AbstractInductive generalization (i.e., making generalizations from instances) is ubiquitous in human cognition. In the developmental literature, researchers have proposed two theoretical accounts of this important process: a naïve theory account and a similarity‐based account. However, neither of these theoretical accounts explains marked developmental changes in inductive generalization with familiar categories that have been documented in prior research. In this article, I describe briefly a revised version of the similarity‐based account of inductive generalization that can explain individual variability as well as developmental change in inductive generalization with familiar categories. I also highlight several unresolved issues in the study of development of inductive generalization.