The Development of Typicality and Context Effects in the Concept of "Turning".

Abstract

This study examined the development of typicality in children's conceptualization of turning behavior ("magaru"). In Experiment 1, 1st and 5th graders and university students completed the drawing task and the comparative judgment one. They also were asked to make an actual turn while blindfolded, and the results revealed that the typical turn is usually of 90 degrees. In addition, standards for typicality judgments became more stable and diverse with age. Experiment 2 studied contextual effects, using various patterns of four-roads junctions as stimuli. A new task was added to the 3 tasks from Experiment 1, and asked participants to select one road as typical of turning. The typical patterns chosen and the degree of typicality varied according to stimulus (i,e. contextual) characteristics. The results are relevant to research on both spatial cognition and categorization.