Language helps children succeed on a classic analogy task

Stella Christie*, Dedre Gentner

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

117 Scopus citations

Abstract

Adult humans show exceptional relational ability relative to other species. In this research, we trace the development of this ability in young children. We used a task widely used in comparative research-the relational match-to-sample task, which requires participants to notice and match the identity relation: for example, AA should match BB instead of CD. Despite the simplicity of this relation, children under 4 years of age failed to pass this test (Experiment 1), and their performance did not improve even with initial feedback (Experiment 2). In Experiments 3 and 4, we found that two kinds of symbolic-linguistic experience can facilitate relational reasoning in young children. Our findings suggest that children learn to become adept analogical thinkers, and that language fosters this learning in at least two distinct ways.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)383-397
Number of pages15
JournalCognitive Science
Volume38
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 2014

Keywords

  • Analogy
  • Cognitive development
  • Language
  • Learning

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Language helps children succeed on a classic analogy task'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this