Categorization by Children and Adults in Communication Contexts

Abstract

An important difference between laboratory and real life categorization is that in everyday use, categorization generally serves as the means to an end (e.g., arranging the kitchen to be able to find things efficiently), rather than the end itself. Laboratory classification studies have found increases with development in the use of nominal rather than functional categories, with nominal categorization regarded as the superior strategy. The present study examines developmental differences in category labeling in a communication situation. Adult women and 9-year-old children instructed 7-year-olds in the organization of groceries in a mock kitchen or of photographs of common objects into compartments as a "homework" assignment.

In contrast with the usual laboratory findings, both adults and children gave more functional than nominal labels. The adults' greater use of functional labels appeared only in the homework task, and not in the kitchen task. The results lend support to the suggestion that category use varies according to the context and purpose of the categorization.