Words, Thoughts, and Theories

Alison Gopnik (University Of California), Andrew N. Meltzoff, Jeffrey S. Rosenschein

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English

MIT Press
01 September 1998

Child & developmental psychology; Cognition & cognitive psychology

Series: Words, Thoughts, and Theories

Words, Thoughts, and Theories articulates and defends the ""theory theory"" of cognitive and semantic development, the idea that infants and young children, like scientists, learn about the world by forming and revising theories, a view of the origins of knowledge and meaning that has broad implications for cognitive science.

Gopnik and Meltzoff interweave philosophical arguments and empirical data from their own and other's research. Both the philosophy and the psychology, the arguments and the data, address the same fundamental epistemological question- How do we come to understand the world around us?

Recently, the theory theory has led to much interesting research. However, this is the first book to look at the theory in extensive detail and to systematically contrast it with other theories. It is also the first to apply the theory to infancy and early childhood, to use the theory to provide a framework for understanding semantic development, and to demonstrate that language acquisition influences theory change in children.

The authors show that children just beginning to talk are engaged in profound restructurings of several domains of knowledge. These restructurings are similar to theory changes in science, and they influence children's early semantic development, since children's cognitive concerns shape and motivate their use of very early words. But, in addition, children pay attention to the language they hear around them and this too reshapes their cognition, and causes them to reorganize their theories.

By: Alison Gopnik (University Of California), Andrew N. Meltzoff
Edited by: Jeffrey S. Rosenschein
Imprint: MIT Press
Country of Publication: United States
Edition: New edition
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 15mm
Weight: 476g
ISBN: 9780262571265
ISBN 10: 0262571269
Series: Words, Thoughts, and Theories
Pages: 350
Publication Date: 01 September 1998
Recommended Age: From 18 years
Audience: College/higher education , Professional and scholarly , Professional & Vocational , A / AS level , Further / Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Inactive

Jeffrey Rosenschein is the Sam and Will Strauss Professor of Computer Science at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Reviews for Words, Thoughts, and Theories

Beyond the good science that they contribute to their own idea... it is surprising and wonderful how Gopnik and Meltzoff transcend their own field to demonstratethe relevance of their research to other disciplines. --Shaun Gallagher, Journal of Consciousness Studies