Behavioral and Brain Sciences

Table of Contents - June 2011 - Volume 34, Issue 03  

Open Peer Commentary

Representation development, perceptual learning, and concept formation

I. P. L. McLarena1, Andy J. Willsa1 and S. Grahama2

a1 Washington Singer Laboratories, School of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, United Kingdom. i.p.l.mclaren@exeter.ac.uk a.j.wills@exeter.ac.uk

a2 Clinical Imaging Research Centre, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117456. psysg@nus.edu.sg

Abstract

We argue for an example of “core cognition” based on Diamond and Carey's (1986) work on expertise and recognition, which is not made use of in The Origin of Concepts. This mechanism for perceptual learning seems to have all the necessary characteristics in that it is innate, domain-specific (requires stimulus sets possessing a certain structure), and demonstrably affects categorisation in a way that strongly suggests it will influence concept formation as well.

(Online publication May 19 2011)

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