Dj. Simons et Fc. Keil, AN ABSTRACT TO CONCRETE SHIFT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF BIOLOGICAL THOUGHT - THE INSIDES STORY, Cognition, 56(2), 1995, pp. 129-163
For more than a century, theorists of cognitive development have embra
ced some form of the thesis that cognitive development proceeds from c
oncrete to abstract knowledge. In contrast to this view, we suggest an
abstract to concrete shift in the development of biological thought.
In five studies we examine children's expectations for what could be i
nside animals and machines and we find that children of all ages respo
nd systematically, revealing abstract expectations for how the insides
of animals and machines should differ. By 8 years, children seem to h
ave more concrete expectations for the nature of insides, and are subs
tantially more accurate than preschoolers. More broadly, we suspect th
at an abstract to concrete progression may capture important features
of how knowledge develops in the realm of biological thought and in ma
ny other areas of understanding as well.