Year: 2010
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Generic statements (e.g., -Tigers have stripes‖) express generalizations about categories.Adults demonstrate an asymmetry at the core of generic meaning, such that although generic statements imply high prevalence levels, they require little evidence to be judged true (Cimpian et al., under review).The present paper examines this asymmetry developmentally.Results showed that preschoolers interpret generic statements in much the same way as adults do.Both age groups interpreted generic statements about novel animal kinds (e.g., -Sapers have wings‖) as referring to the vast majority of the kind.However, they accepted the same statements to be true at considerably lower prevalence levels.This asymmetry was stronger for adults than preschoolers.Additionally, for both ages this asymmetry was shown to be special to generic meaning, as it was not present for -some‖-, -most‖-, or -all‖-quantified statements.These results provide important insight into the amazing capacities of the developing mind.
Author: Hedglen, Jenna
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W81057491