幼児による階層的カテゴリーの状況的理解

抄録

This study examined the situated understanding of hierarchical categories among preschool children. 90 four-, five-, and six-year-olds answered five questions which required them to give a basic category name and a superordinate one to the picure of one or two objects of a basic category. In question 1 they were to give the names to one object. In question 2 they were to give the names to two same objects. In question 3 they were to give the names to two different objects. In question 4 they were to give the names to two different objects one of which was in the situation typical of the superordinate category to which the objects belonged. In question 5 they were to give the names to two different objects one of which was placed by the side of another object of the superordinate category. Questions 2 and 3 were often found to be easier than question 1, and questions 4 and 5 were often easier than question 3. The results were interpreted as evidence of the situated understanding of hierarchical categories.