Year: 2006
Type: article
Abstract: Psychological essentialism states that certain categories are assumed to have an underlying hidden reality (or "essence") that defines objects' identity (Gelman, 2003;Medin & Ortony, 1989).Everyday classification, on the other hand, must be based on the features of objects that are observable.How do we reconcile these facts?One way is to assume that essential features cause observable ones, and that classification involves reasoning backwards from observable features to their hidden cause.Three experiments tested classification with essentialized categories to determine whether causal inference underlies classification.
Authors: ShinWoo Kim, Bob Rehder
Institution: New York University
Language: English
Subfield: Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2620340960