The Origins of Concept Formation: Object Sorting and Object Preference in Early Infancy

Abstract

STARKEY, DAVID. The Origins of Concept Formation: Object Sorting and Object Preference in Early Infancy. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1981, 52, 489-497. Studies of concept formation in infancy have demonstrated that certain experimental settings can elicit spontaneous behavior from infants which has been called or This study pursues the issue of early sorting with infants as young as 6 months and with a broader range of stimuli than has been used previously. 48 infants, 8 males and 8 females at 6, 9, and 12 months, were presented with 8 sets of small, manipulable objects. Each stimulus set consisted of 2 groups of 4 objects each, the groups differing in size, color, form, or some combination of these dimensions. Stimuli thought to be of high salience were included. Variables coded were: which object was touched first, the order in which objects were touched, and grouping together of objects. At both 9 and 12 months, infants showed a high level of sorting activity. At 9 months, 94% showed sequential touching of like objects, while 100% did so at 12 months. 13% at 9 and 44% at 12 months demonstrated at least primitive object grouping. At 6 months selective manipulation was conspicuously absent, leading the author to conclude that this activity must emerge sometime between 6 and 9 months.