Deep thinking in children: The case for knowledge change in analogical development

Dedre Gentner, Mary Jo Ratterman

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Halford, Wilson & Phillips argue that cognitive development is driven by increases in processing capacity. We suggest that changes in relational knowledge are as important or more so. We present evidence that 3-year-olds' analogical abilities are sharply improved by teaching them relational labels; over a 30-minute experimental session children gained approximately 2 years in effective performance. These results mandate caution interpreting age-related change as indicating maturational change, and call for a deeper consideration of the role of epistemological change in cognitive development.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)837-838
JournalBehavioral and Brain Sciences
Volume21
StatePublished - 1998

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