Journal article
D. Gentner, M. J. Rattermann
1991
1991
Semantic Scholar
DOI
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APA
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Gentner, D., & Rattermann, M. J. (1991). Language and the career of similarity.
Chicago/Turabian
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Gentner, D., and M. J. Rattermann. “Language and the Career of Similarity.” (1991).
MLA
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Gentner, D., and M. J. Rattermann. Language and the Career of Similarity. 1991.
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@article{d1991a,
title = {Language and the career of similarity.},
year = {1991},
author = {Gentner, D. and Rattermann, M. J.}
}
Abstract
Similarity has been cast both as hero and as villain in theories of cognitive processing, and the same is true for cognitive development. On the positive side, Rosch and her colleagues have suggested that similarity is an initial organizing principle in the development of categorization (e.g., Rosch, Mervis, Gray, Johnson, & Boyes-Braem, 1976), and Carey (1985) implicates a similarity mechanism in children's learning of the biological domain. It has also been suggested that similarity may play a role in word acquisition (Anglin, 1970; Bowerman, 1973, 1976; E. V. Clark, 1973; Davidson & Gelman, 1990; Gentner, 1982c). Others have taken a more pessimistic view, according to which similarity is either a misleading or at best an inferior strategy used as a last resort. Keil (1989), for example, posits that children begin with theories of the world and that
