A developmental theory of implicit and explicit knowledge?

Early childhood is characterized by many cognitive developmentalists as a p eriod of considerable change with respect to representational format. Diene s & Perner present a potentially viable theory for the stages involved in t he increasingly explicit representation of knowledge. However, in our view they fail to map their multi-level system of explicitness onto cognitive de velopmental changes that occur in the first years of life. Specifically, we question the theorv's heuristic Value when applied to the development of e arly mind reading and categorization. We conclude that the authors fail to present evidence that dispels the view that knowledge change in these areas is dichotomous.