This study examined 2-year-old children's ability to make category-based inferences. Subjects were asked a series of questions that they could answer based on category membership, appearances, or both. In one condition, all pictures named; in second none named. Children performed well prototypical regardless whether atypical pictures, better when labels provided. A control demonstrated children ignored the label it named transient property rather than stable category. Contrary standard views...

Recent research shows that preschool children are skilled classifiers, using categories both to organize information efficiently and extend knowledge beyond what is already known. Moreover, by 2 1/2 years of age, sensitive nonobvious properties assume category members share underlying similarities. Why do expect have this rich structure, how appropriately limit expectation certain domains (i.e., animals vs. artifacts)? The present studies explore the role maternal input, providing one first...

Many ideas in the biological sciences seem especially difficult to understand, learn, and teach successfully. Our goal this feature is explore how these difficulties may stem not from complexity or opacity of concepts themselves, but fact that they clash with informal, intuitive, deeply held ways understanding world have been studied for decades by psychologists. We give a brief overview field developmental cognitive psychology. Then, each following sections, we present number common...

Research and theory development in cognitive psychology science education research remain largely isolated. Biology researchers have documented persistent scientifically inaccurate ideas, often termed misconceptions, among biology students across biological domains. In parallel, developmental psychologists described intuitive conceptual systems--teleological, essentialist, anthropocentric thinking--that humans use to reason about biology. We hypothesize that seemingly unrelated...

Previous research has shown that students employ intuitive thinking when understanding scientific concepts. Three types of thinking-essentialist, teleological, and anthropic thinking-are used in biology learning can lead to misconceptions. However, it is unknown how commonly these thinking, or cognitive construals, are spontaneously students' explanations across biological concepts whether this usage related endorsement construal-consistent In study, we examined frequently undergraduate two...

Three groups living off the same rainforest habitat manifest strikingly distinct behaviors, cognitions, and social relationships relative to forest. Only area’s last native Maya reveal systematic awareness of ecological complexity involving animals, plants, people practices clearly favoring forest regeneration. Spanish-speaking immigrants prove closer in thought, action, networking than do immigrant Maya. There is no overriding “local,” “Indian,” or “immigrant” relationship environment....

The authors examined inductive reasoning among experts in a domain. Three types of tree (landscapers, taxonomists, and parks maintenance personnel) completed 3 tasks. In Experiment 1, participants inferred which 2 novel diseases would affect "more other kinds trees" provided justifications for their choices. 2, the used modified instructions asked disease be more likely to "all trees." 3, conclusion category was eliminated altogether, were generate list affected trees. Among these...

Two experiments investigate the role of similarity and causal-ecological knowledge in expert novice categorization reasoning. In Experiment 1, university undergraduates commercial fishermen sorted marine creatures into groups; although there was substantial agreement, novices largely on basis appearance, whereas experts often cited commercial, ecological, or behavioral factors, systematically subdivided fish ecological niche. 2, were asked to generalize a blank property novel disease from...

Medicinal chemists' "intuition" is critical for success in modern drug discovery. Early the discovery process, chemists select a subset of compounds further research, often from many viable candidates. These decisions determine campaign, and ultimately what kind drugs are developed marketed to public. Surprisingly little known about cognitive aspects decision-making when they prioritize compounds. We investigate 1) how extent simplify problem identifying promising compounds, 2) whether agree...

We examined young adults' essentialist reasoning about gender categories. Previous developmental results suggest that until age 9 or 10, children show marked gender, but this disappears by early adulthood. In contrast, from social cognition thinking categories persists into To address discrepancy, 69 undergraduates engaged in a switched-at-birth task under speeded delayed conditions. Delayed participants made decisions physical not behavioral properties and replicated past findings. Speeded...

The ways in which people conceptualize the human-nature relationship have significant implications for proenvironmental values and attitudes, sustainable behavior, environmental policy measures. Human exceptionalism (HE) is one such conceptual framework, involving belief that humans human societies exist independently of ecosystems they are embedded, promoting a sharp ontological boundary between rest natural world. In this paper, we introduce HE more depth, exploring impact on perceptions...

There are widespread aspirations to focus undergraduate biology education on teaching students think conceptually like biologists; however, there is a dearth of assessment tools designed measure progress from novice expert biological conceptual thinking. We present the development novel tool, Biology Card Sorting Task, probe how individuals organize their knowledge biology. While modeled tasks cognitive psychology, this task unique in its design test two hypothesized frameworks for...