Book chapter
A Behavioral Analysis of Concepts: Its Application to Pigeons and Children
Advances in Research and Theory, pp.73-132
31, Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Elsevier Science & Technology
1994
DOI: 10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60409-0
Abstract
This chapter explores that behaviorists analyze many instances of human and animal behavior in terms of the familiar psychological processes of discrimination and generalization. It reviews most of the empirical evidence that the laboratory has collected over the last several years on conceptualization by pigeons. That evidence supports the speculations of James, Keller, and Schoenfeld that nonhuman animals display conceptual behavior. The concepts that they acquire are not only of basic-level categories of objects, but of superordinate categories as well. It explains that the notions of primary and secondary stimulus generalization explain these cases of conceptual behavior. Despite concentrating on the behavior of nonhuman animals, it sees that this analysis of concepts is also applicable to the behavior of young children. The behavioral analysis of conceptualization led to consider the many ways that commonly learn concepts. The chapter reviews that it involves the parent's very careful and selective application of social reinforcement, so that different classes of discriminative stimuli gain control over the child's ever-expanding repertoire of verbal behavior.
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- A Behavioral Analysis of Concepts: Its Application to Pigeons and Children
- Creators
- Edward A WassermanSuzette L Astley
- Resource Type
- Book chapter
- Publication Details
- Advances in Research and Theory, pp.73-132
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science & Technology
- Series
- 31; Psychology of Learning and Motivation
- DOI
- 10.1016/S0079-7421(08)60409-0
- eISSN
- 1557-802X
- ISSN
- 0079-7421
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 1994
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences; Iowa Neuroscience Institute
- Record Identifier
- 9984070727202771
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