Developmental trends in similarity as structural alignment: Evidence from children's performance in mapping tasks
Rattermann, Mary Jo
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/21800
Description
Title
Developmental trends in similarity as structural alignment: Evidence from children's performance in mapping tasks
Author(s)
Rattermann, Mary Jo
Issue Date
1991
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
DeLoache, Judy S.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Psychology, Developmental
Language
eng
Abstract
"Young children find tasks in which object similarity is pitted against relational similarity difficult. However, there is a developmental improvement in the ability to use relational similarity. We investigated the effects of object similarity and relational similarity on children's performance in an analogical mapping task. Our experimental task was designed to be a challenging analogical mapping task in which a response based on either object similarity or relational similarity was possible, although only relational similarity was correct. In a series of experiments, 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children were tested using this task. It was found that young children are affected by the salience of the object-similarity choices in this task; both 3- and 4-year-olds responded based on object similarity when the objects used were rich in object attributes and responded based on relational similarity when the objects used were sparse and simple. Five-year-olds, however, performed quite well with both stimulus types, thus showing a developmental improvement in this task. In a further set of experiments, the use of familiar labels (""Daddy,"" ""Mommy,"" and ""Baby"") were used to increase children's ability to use relational similarity with both types of stimuli in the previous task. When these familiar labels were used, 3-year-old children's ability to use relational similarity in the presence of competing object similarity increased."
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
