Concept Formation In Psychology

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  concept formation in psychology: The Big Book of Concepts Gregory Murphy, 2004-01-30 Concepts embody our knowledge of the kinds of things there are in the world. Tying our past experiences to our present interactions with the environment, they enable us to recognize and understand new objects and events. Concepts are also relevant to understanding domains such as social situations, personality types, and even artistic styles. Yet like other phenomenologically simple cognitive processes such as walking or understanding speech, concept formation and use are maddeningly complex. Research since the 1970s and the decline of the classical view of concepts have greatly illuminated the psychology of concepts. But persistent theoretical disputes have sometimes obscured this progress. The Big Book of Concepts goes beyond those disputes to reveal the advances that have been made, focusing on the major empirical discoveries. By reviewing and evaluating research on diverse topics such as category learning, word meaning, conceptual development in infants and children, and the basic level of categorization, the book develops a much broader range of criteria than is usual for evaluating theories of concepts.
  concept formation in psychology: Concept Formation Neil Bolton, 1977
  concept formation in psychology: Memory and Understanding Renate Bartsch, 2005-01-01 This book treats memory and understanding on two levels, on the phenomenological level of experience, on which a theory of dynamic conceptual semantics is built, and on the neuro-connectionist level, which supports the capacities of concept formation, remembering, and understanding. A neuro-connectionist circuit architecture of a constructive memory is developed in which understanding and remembering are modelled in accordance with the constituent structures of a dynamic conceptual semantics. Consciousness emerges by circuit activation between conceptual indicators and episodic indices with the sensory-motor, emotional, and proprioceptual areas. This theory of concept formation, remembering, and understanding is applied to Proust s A la recherche du temps perdu, with special attention to the author s excursions into philosophical and aesthetic issues. Under this perspective, Proust s work can be seen as an artistic exploration into our capacity of understanding, whereby the unconscious, the memory, is exteriorized in consciousness by presenting the experienced episodes in the conceptual order of similarity and contiguity through our capacity of concept formation. (Series A)
  concept formation in psychology: Concept Formation in the Wild Yrjö Engeström, 2024 Based on cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), this book provides a new theoretical framework for understanding the collective formation of concepts that can guide the course of development in different activities and organizations. It is essential reading for researchers, advanced students and practitioners across human and social sciences--
  concept formation in psychology: Abstraction and Concept Formation Anatol Pikas, 1966
  concept formation in psychology: Concept Formation Douglas H. Fisher, Michael J. Pazzani, Pat Langley, 2014-05-12 Concept Formation: Knowledge and Experience in Unsupervised Learning presents the interdisciplinary interaction between machine learning and cognitive psychology on unsupervised incremental methods. This book focuses on measures of similarity, strategies for robust incremental learning, and the psychological consistency of various approaches. Organized into three parts encompassing 15 chapters, this book begins with an overview of inductive concept learning in machine learning and psychology, with emphasis on issues that distinguish concept formation from more prevalent supervised methods and from numeric and conceptual clustering. This text then describes the cognitive consistency of two concept formation systems that are motivated by a rational analysis of human behavior relative to a variety of psychological phenomena. Other chapters consider the merits of various schemes for representing and acquiring knowledge during concept formation. This book discusses as well the earliest work in concept formation. The final chapter deals with acquisition of quantity conservation in developmental psychology. This book is a valuable resource for psychologists and cognitive scientists.
  concept formation in psychology: Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development Sam Goldstein, Jack A. Naglieri, 2010-11-23 This reference work breaks new ground as an electronic resource. Utterly comprehensive, it serves as a repository of knowledge in the field as well as a frequently updated conduit of new material long before it finds its way into standard textbooks.
  concept formation in psychology: The Process of Education, Revised Edition Jerome S. BRUNER, 2009-06-30 Jerome Bruner shows that the basic concepts of science and the humanities can be grasped intuitively at a very early age. Bruner's foundational case for the spiral curriculum has influenced a generation of educators and will continue to be a source of insight into the goals and methods of the educational process.
  concept formation in psychology: The Origin of Concepts Susan Carey, 2011 New in paperback-- A transformative book on the way we think about the nature of concepts and the relations between language and thought.
  concept formation in psychology: Perceptual and Cognitive Development Rochel Gelman, Terry Kit-Fong Au, 1996-06-17 Perceptual and Cognitive Development illustrates how the developmental approach yields fundamental contributions to our understanding of perception and cognition as a whole. The book discusses how to relate developmental, comparative, and neurological considerations to early learning and development, and it presents fundamental problems in cognition and language, such as the acquisition of a coherent, organized, and shared understanding of concepts and language. Discussions of learning, memory, attention, and problem solving are embedded within specific accounts of the neurological status of developing minds and the nature of knowledge. - Research advances and theoretical reorientations are updated in the Second Edition; the revision focuses more attention on the cognitive and biological sciences and neuroscience - Illustrates how the developmental approach can yield fundamental contributions to our understanding of perception and cognition as a whole - Discussions of learning, memory, and attention permeate individual chapters
  concept formation in psychology: Key Concepts in Developmental Psychology H Rudolph Schaffer, 2006 Perfect for courses in child development or developmental psychology and arranged thematically in sections corresponding to chapter headings usually found in textbooks, this book is ideal for students wanting an accessible book to enrich their learning experience. Key Features: - Provides an overview of the place of each concept in Developmental Psychology under three headings, namely its meaning, origins and current usage. - Concepts are grouped into sections corresponding to the main themes usually covered in teaching. - Relevant concepts in the book are emboldened and linked by listing at the end of each concept - Guidance is provided to further reading on each of the concepts discussed. The book will be centrally important to undergraduate students who need to learn the language used by developmental psychologists in describing their studies, but will also help more advanced readers in checking their ideas regarding the nature and uSAGE of particular concepts.
  concept formation in psychology: Formal Approaches in Categorization Emmanuel M. Pothos, Andy J. Wills, 2011-01-27 The process of constructing concepts underpins our capacity to encode information in an efficient and competent manner and also, ultimately, our ability to think in terms of abstract ideas such as justice, love and happiness. But what are the mechanisms which correspond to psychological categorization processes? This book unites many prominent approaches in modelling categorization. Each chapter focuses on a particular formal approach to categorization, presented by the proponent(s) or advocate(s) of that approach, and the authors consider the relation of this approach to other models and the ultimate objectives in their research programmes. The volume evaluates progress that has been made in the field and potential future developments. This is an essential companion to any scientist interested in the formal description of categorization and, more generally, in formal approaches to cognition. It will be the definitive guide to formal approaches in categorization research for years to come.
  concept formation in psychology: Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning Norbert M. Seel, 2011-10-05 Over the past century, educational psychologists and researchers have posited many theories to explain how individuals learn, i.e. how they acquire, organize and deploy knowledge and skills. The 20th century can be considered the century of psychology on learning and related fields of interest (such as motivation, cognition, metacognition etc.) and it is fascinating to see the various mainstreams of learning, remembered and forgotten over the 20th century and note that basic assumptions of early theories survived several paradigm shifts of psychology and epistemology. Beyond folk psychology and its naïve theories of learning, psychological learning theories can be grouped into some basic categories, such as behaviorist learning theories, connectionist learning theories, cognitive learning theories, constructivist learning theories, and social learning theories. Learning theories are not limited to psychology and related fields of interest but rather we can find the topic of learning in various disciplines, such as philosophy and epistemology, education, information science, biology, and – as a result of the emergence of computer technologies – especially also in the field of computer sciences and artificial intelligence. As a consequence, machine learning struck a chord in the 1980s and became an important field of the learning sciences in general. As the learning sciences became more specialized and complex, the various fields of interest were widely spread and separated from each other; as a consequence, even presently, there is no comprehensive overview of the sciences of learning or the central theoretical concepts and vocabulary on which researchers rely. The Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning provides an up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the specific terms mostly used in the sciences of learning and its related fields, including relevant areas of instruction, pedagogy, cognitive sciences, and especially machine learning and knowledge engineering. This modern compendium will be an indispensable source of information for scientists, educators, engineers, and technical staff active in all fields of learning. More specifically, the Encyclopedia provides fast access to the most relevant theoretical terms provides up-to-date, broad and authoritative coverage of the most important theories within the various fields of the learning sciences and adjacent sciences and communication technologies; supplies clear and precise explanations of the theoretical terms, cross-references to related entries and up-to-date references to important research and publications. The Encyclopedia also contains biographical entries of individuals who have substantially contributed to the sciences of learning; the entries are written by a distinguished panel of researchers in the various fields of the learning sciences.
  concept formation in psychology: Hegel, Marx and Vygotsky Andy Blunden, 2021-11-08 Andy Blunden’s Hegel Marx & Vygotsky, Essays in Social Philosophy uses a series of essays to demonstrate how the cultural psychology of Lev Vygotsky and the Soviet Activity Theorists can be used to renew Hegelian Marxism as an interdisciplinary science.
  concept formation in psychology: Abstraction and Concept Formation , 1976
  concept formation in psychology: Conceptual Spaces Peter Gardenfors, 2004-01-30 Within cognitive science, two approaches currently dominate the problem of modeling representations. The symbolic approach views cognition as computation involving symbolic manipulation. Connectionism, a special case of associationism, models associations using artificial neuron networks. Peter Gärdenfors offers his theory of conceptual representations as a bridge between the symbolic and connectionist approaches. Symbolic representation is particularly weak at modeling concept learning, which is paramount for understanding many cognitive phenomena. Concept learning is closely tied to the notion of similarity, which is also poorly served by the symbolic approach. Gärdenfors's theory of conceptual spaces presents a framework for representing information on the conceptual level. A conceptual space is built up from geometrical structures based on a number of quality dimensions. The main applications of the theory are on the constructive side of cognitive science: as a constructive model the theory can be applied to the development of artificial systems capable of solving cognitive tasks. Gärdenfors also shows how conceptual spaces can serve as an explanatory framework for a number of empirical theories, in particular those concerning concept formation, induction, and semantics. His aim is to present a coherent research program that can be used as a basis for more detailed investigations.
  concept formation in psychology: Concept-Based Inquiry in Action Carla Marschall, Rachel French, 2018-05-30 Create a thinking classroom that helps students move from the factual to the conceptual Concept-Based Inquiry is a framework for inquiry that promotes deep understanding. The key is using guiding questions to help students inquire into concepts and the relationships between them. Concept-Based Inquiry in Action provides teachers with the tools and resources necessary to organize and focus student learning around concepts and conceptual relationships that support the transfer of understanding. Step by step, the authors lead both new and experienced educators to implement teaching strategies that support the realization of inquiry-based learning for understanding in any K–12 classroom.
  concept formation in psychology: Concept Formation and Knowledge Revision Stefan Wrobel, 2013-03-14 A fundamental assumption of work in artificial intelligence and machine learning is that knowledge is expressed in a computer with the help of knowledge representations. Since the proper choice of such representations is a difficult task that fundamentally affects the capabilities of a system, the problem of automatic representation change is an important topic in current research. Concept Formation and Knowledge Revision focuses on representation change as a concept formation task, regarding concepts as the elementary representational vocabulary from which further statements are constructed. Taking an interdisciplinary approach from psychological foundations to computer implementations, the book draws on existing psychological results about the nature of human concepts and concept formation to determine the scope of concept formation phenomena, and to identify potential components of computational concept formation models. The central idea of this work is that computational concept formation can usefully be understood as a process that is triggered in a demand-driven fashion by the representational needs of the learning system, and identify the knowledge revision activities of a system as a particular context for such a process. The book presents a detailed analysis of the revision problem for first-order clausal theories, and develops a set of postulates that any such operation should satisfy. It shows how a minimum theory revision operator can be realized by using exception sets, and that this operator is indeed maximally general. The book then shows that concept formation can be triggered from within the knowledge revision process whenever the existing representation does not permit the plausible reformulation of an exception set, demonstrating the usefulness of the approach both theoretically and empirically within the learning knowledge acquisition system MOBAL. In using a first-order representation, this book is part of the rapidly developing field of Inductive Logic Programming (ILP). By integrating the computational issues with psychological and fundamental discussions of concept formation phenomena, the book will be of interest to readers both theoretically and psychologically inclined. From the foreword by Katharina Morik: ` The ideal to combine the three sources of artificial intelligence research has almost never been reached. Such a combined and integrated research requires the researcher to master different ways of thinking, different work styles, different sets of literature, and different research procedures. It requires capabilities in software engineering for the application part, in theoretical computer science for the theory part, and in psychology for the cognitive part. The most important capability for artificial intelligence is to keep the integrative view and to create a true original work that goes beyond the collection of pieces from different fields. This book achieves such an integrative view of concept formation and knowledge revision by presenting the way from psychological investigations that indicate that concepts are theories and point at the important role of a demand for learning. to an implemented system which supports users in their tasks when working with a knowledge base and its theoretical foundation. '
  concept formation in psychology: Principles of Methodology Perri 6, Christine Bellamy, 2011-10-17 This book provides a comprehensive, accessible guide to social science methodology. In so doing, it establishes methodology as distinct from both methods and philosophy. Most existing textbooks deal with methods, or sound ways of collecting and analysing data to generate findings. In contrast, this innovative book shows how an understanding of methodology allows us to design research so that findings can be used to answer interesting research questions and to build and test theories. Most important things in social research (e.g., beliefs, institutions, interests, practices and social classes) cannot be observed directly. This book explains how empirical research can nevertheless be designed to make sound inferences about their nature, effects and significance. The authors examine what counts as good description, explanation and interpretation, and how they can be achieved by striking intelligent trade-offs between competing design virtues. Coverage includes: • why methodology matters; • what philosophical arguments show us about inference; • competing virtues of good research design; • purposes of theory, models and frameworks; • forming researchable concepts and typologies; • explaining and interpreting: inferring causation, meaning and significance; and • combining explanation and interpretation. The book is essential reading for new researchers faced with the practical challenge of designing research. Extensive examples and exercises are provided, based on the authors′ long experience of teaching methodology to multi-disciplinary groups. Perri 6 is Professor of Social Policy in the Graduate School in the College of Business, Law and Social Sciences at Nottingham Trent University. Chris Bellamy is Emeritus Professor of Public Administration in the Graduate School, Nottingham Trent University.
  concept formation in psychology: The Learning of Mathematics National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, 1961
  concept formation in psychology: Fuzzy Computational Ontologies in Contexts Yi Cai, Ching-man Au Yeung, Ho-fung Leung, 2012-04-07 Knowledge Representation plays an essential role in Semantic Web, in particular in automated information processing and communications among software agents. This book, entitled Fuzzy Computational Ontologies in Contexts: Formal Models of Knowledge Representation with Membership Degree and Typicality, and Their Applications, discusses knowledge representation in Semantic Web. It introduces the relevant background knowledge, models of fuzzy ontologies, importance and priority of properties in concepts, and object typicality in fuzzy ontologies and context-aware ontologies. The book is intended for graduate students, engineers, and researchers in the field of artificial intelligence and computer science. Yi Cai is an Assistant Professor in School of Software Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. Ching-man Au Yeung is a Senior Engineer in Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, Hong Kong, China. Ho-fung Leung is a Professor and the Chairman of Department of Computer Science and Engineering, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
  concept formation in psychology: Cognition and Categorization Eleanor Rosch, Barbara B. Lloyd, 2024-03-08 Originally published in 1978, the papers in this book derive from a 1976 meeting sponsored by the Social Science Research Council to discuss the nature and principles of category formation. It is organized in three sections: real-world categories, the cognitive processes underlying categorization, and the nature of representation. Part I examines different structural aspects of real-world categories: folk biological taxonomies, within and between category structures for material objects, and some categories in a language that codes the world in a visual–gestural mode. All three chapters in Part I assume category processors who are able to perform at least three cognitive functions: They can judge similarity between stimuli; they can perceive and process the attributes of a stimulus; and they can learn. Part II presents analyses of these three cognitive functions. All discussion of psychological structures and processes lead eventually to the issue of representation, and Part III examines representational assumptions underlying the earlier discussions. Today it can be read and enjoyed in its historical context.
  concept formation in psychology: Encyclopedia of Infant and Early Childhood Development: R-Z; Index Janette B. Benson, 2008 This reference work provides a comprehensive entry point to the existing literature on child development from the fields of psychology, genetics, neuroscience, and sociology. Although some medical information is included, the emphasis is on normal growth and is primarily from a psychological perspective.
  concept formation in psychology: The Psychology of Human Thought Robert J. Sternberg, Edward E. Smith, 1988-02-26
  concept formation in psychology: Concept Formation Douglas Fisher, Michael Pazzani, Pat Langley, 2014 Concept Formation: Knowledge and Experience in Unsupervised Learning presents the interdisciplinary interaction between machine learning and cognitive psychology on unsupervised incremental methods. This book focuses on measures of similarity, strategies for robust incremental learning, and the psychological consistency of various approaches. Organized into three parts encompassing 15 chapters, this book begins with an overview of inductive concept learning in machine learning and psychology, with emphasis on issues that distinguish concept formation from more prevalent supervised methods and from numeric and conceptual clustering. This text then describes the cognitive consistency of two concept formation systems that are motivated by a rational analysis of human behavior relative to a variety of psychological phenomena. Other chapters consider the merits of various schemes for representing and acquiring knowledge during concept formation. This book discusses as well the earliest work in concept formation. The final chapter deals with acquisition of quantity conservation in developmental psychology. This book is a valuable resource for psychologists and cognitive scientists.
  concept formation in psychology: Creative Cognition Ronald A. Finke, Thomas B. Ward, Steven M. Smith, 1996-01-05 Creative Cognition combines original experiments with existing work in cognitive psychology to provide the first explicit account of the cognitive processes and structures that contribute to creative thinking and discovery. Creative Cognition combines original experiments with existing work in cognitive psychology to provide the first explicit account of the cognitive processes and structures that contribute to creative thinking and discovery. In separate chapters, the authors take up visualization, concept formation, categorization, memory retrieval, and problem solving. They describe novel experimental methods for studying creative cognitive processes under controlled laboratory conditions, along with techniques that can be used to generate many different types of inventions and concepts. Unlike traditional approaches, Creative Cognition considers creativity as a product of numerous cognitive processes, each of which helps to set the stage for insight and discovery. It identifies many of these processes as well as general principles of creative cognition that can be applied across a variety of different domains, with examples in artificial intelligence, engineering design, product development, architecture, education, and the visual arts. Following a summary of previous approaches to creativity, the authors present a theoretical model of the creative process. They review research involving an innovative imagery recombination technique, developed by Finke, that clearly demonstrates that creative inventions can be induced in the laboratory. They then describe experiments in category learning that support the provocative claim that the factors constraining category formation similarly constrain imagination and illustrate the role of various memory processes and other strategies in creative problem solving.
  concept formation in psychology: Textbook of Clinical Neurology Christopher G. Goetz, MD
MD, 2007-09-12 Organized to approach patient problems the way you do, this best-selling text guides you through the evaluation of neurologic symptoms, helps you select the most appropriate tests and interpret the findings, and assists you in effectively managing the underlying causes. Its practical approach makes it an ideal reference for clinical practice. Includes practical, evidence-based approaches from an internationally renowned team of authors. Zeroes in on what you really need to know with helpful tables that highlight links between neurological anatomy, diagnostic studies, and therapeutic procedures. Offers a logical, clinically relevant format so you can find the answers you need quickly. Features a new, updated design for easier reference. Includes new full-color images and updated illustrations to facilitate comprehension of important concepts. Features updated chapters on the latest genetic- and immunologic-based therapies, advances in pharmacology, and new imaging techniques. Includes an expanded and updated CD-ROM that allows you to view video clips of patient examinations, download all of the book's illustrations, and enhance exam preparation with review questions.
  concept formation in psychology: Social Science Methodology John Gerring, 2011-12-15 John Gerring's exceptional textbook has been thoroughly revised in this second edition. It offers a one-volume introduction to social science methodology relevant to the disciplines of anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology and sociology. This new edition has been extensively developed with the introduction of new material and a thorough treatment of essential elements such as conceptualization, measurement, causality and research design. It is written for students, long-time practitioners and methodologists and covers both qualitative and quantitative methods. It synthesizes the vast and diverse field of methodology in a way that is clear, concise and comprehensive. While offering a handy overview of the subject, the book is also an argument about how we should conceptualize methodological problems. Thinking about methodology through this lens provides a new framework for understanding work in the social sciences.
  concept formation in psychology: Concepts Andy Blunden, 2012-07-20 Andy Blunden presents a critical review of theories of Concepts in cognitive psychology, analytical philosophy, linguistics, conceptual change theory and other disciplines. The problems in these disciplines has led many to abandon the idea of Concepts altogether, particularly those taking an interactionist approach. Blunden responds with an historical review focussing on the idealist philosophy of Hegel, its reception and transformation in the development of positive science and finally the cultural psychology of Lev Vygotsky. He then proposes an approach to Concepts which draws on Activity Theory. Concepts are equally subjective and objective, units of consciousness and of the cultural formation of which one is a part. This continues the author’s earlier work in An Interdisciplinary Theory of Activity (Brill 2010).
  concept formation in psychology: Introduction to Psychology Lionel Nicholas, 2008 Completely revised and updated, this newly illustrated guide helps both licensed and student nurses apply the latest in psychological research and theory to their everyday lives. Sensation, perception, cognitive processes, and developmental psychology are among the topics discussed. A brief history of the field and new information on HIV and AIDS are also included along with a CD-ROM containing PowerPoint slides for each chapter.
  concept formation in psychology: The Foundations of Mind Jean Matter Mandler, 2004-05-06 In The Foundations of Mind, Jean Mandler presents a new theory of cognitive development in infancy, focusing on the processes through which perceptual information is transformed into concepts. Drawing on her extensive research, Mandler explores preverbal conceptualization and shows how it forms the basis for both thought and language. She also emphasizes the importance of distinguishing automatic perceptual processes from attentive conceptualization, and argues that these two kinds of learning follow different principles, so it is crucial to specify the processes required by a given task. Countering both strong nativist and empiricist views, Mandler provides a fresh and markedly different perspective on early cognitive development, painting a new picture of the abilities and accomplishments of infants and the development of the mind.
  concept formation in psychology: From Childhood to Adolescence Raymond Montemayor, Gerald R. Adams, Thomas P. Gullotta, 1990-02 Parent-child relationships, social and emotional development, and gender role development are discussed and thorough literature reviews on each topic are presented.
  concept formation in psychology: Categories and Concepts Iven van Mechelen, 1993 A book aimed at advanced undergraduates and graduates in cognitive science and artificial intelligence, linguistics, applied mathematics and data analysis.
  concept formation in psychology: Philosophic Foundations of Genetic Psychology and Gestalt Psychology Ash Gobar, 2012-12-06 XVI Psychologists have, however, shown that what we are primarily aware of is not a succession of sense-data but figures-ground phenomena: Wittgenstein's ambiguous duck-rabbit is merely one such example. They have also drawn our attention to the existence of tertiary qualities in perception, such as 'symmetry' and 'elegance' which are just as directly given as are the perceived colours red, green or yellow. It is interesting to note that Merleau-Ponty has made considerable use of Gestalt ideas in his Phenomenology of Perception. One of the commonest reasons given by linguistic philosophers for not making direct use of the results of psychological research (although philosophers are usually willing to accept the first-hand results of physical science) is that philosophical accounts of perception and thinking are concerned with analysing the language in which these reports are made; that is to say, they are second-order enquiries. Often this approach is still more restricted and ordinary linguistic usage is taken as the yardstick against which questions relating to thought and perception are to be measured. The task of the philosopher is then con fined to the analysis of ordinary language. If he is more adventurous, as some writers on philosophical psychology are, he might go on to show how far the language used by psychological researchers falls short of the paradigms of common sense.
  concept formation in psychology: Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 National Research Council, Institute of Medicine, Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Committee on the Science of Children Birth to Age 8: Deepening and Broadening the Foundation for Success, 2015-07-23 Children are already learning at birth, and they develop and learn at a rapid pace in their early years. This provides a critical foundation for lifelong progress, and the adults who provide for the care and the education of young children bear a great responsibility for their health, development, and learning. Despite the fact that they share the same objective - to nurture young children and secure their future success - the various practitioners who contribute to the care and the education of children from birth through age 8 are not acknowledged as a workforce unified by the common knowledge and competencies needed to do their jobs well. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 explores the science of child development, particularly looking at implications for the professionals who work with children. This report examines the current capacities and practices of the workforce, the settings in which they work, the policies and infrastructure that set qualifications and provide professional learning, and the government agencies and other funders who support and oversee these systems. This book then makes recommendations to improve the quality of professional practice and the practice environment for care and education professionals. These detailed recommendations create a blueprint for action that builds on a unifying foundation of child development and early learning, shared knowledge and competencies for care and education professionals, and principles for effective professional learning. Young children thrive and learn best when they have secure, positive relationships with adults who are knowledgeable about how to support their development and learning and are responsive to their individual progress. Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age 8 offers guidance on system changes to improve the quality of professional practice, specific actions to improve professional learning systems and workforce development, and research to continue to build the knowledge base in ways that will directly advance and inform future actions. The recommendations of this book provide an opportunity to improve the quality of the care and the education that children receive, and ultimately improve outcomes for children.
  concept formation in psychology: The Making of Human Concepts Denis Mareschal, Paul C. Quinn, S. E. G. Lea, 2010 Human adults appear different from other animals in their ability to form abstract mental representations that go beyond perceptual similarity. In short, they can conceptualize the world. This apparent uniqueness leads to an immediate puzzle: WHEN and HOW does this abstract system come into being? To answer this question we need to explore the origins of adult concepts, both developmentally and phylogenetically; When does the developing child acquire the ability to use abstract concepts?; does the transition occur around 2 years, with the onset of symbolic representation and language? Or, is it independent of the emergence of language?; when in evolutionary history did an abstract representational system emerge?; is there something unique about the human brain? How would a computational system operating on the basis of perceptual associations develop into a system operating on the basis of abstract relations?; is this ability present in other species, but masked by their inability to verbalise abstractions? Perhaps the very notion of concepts is empty and should be done away with altogether. This book tackles the age-old puzzle of what might be unique about human concepts. Intuitively, we have a sense that our thoughts are somehow different from those of animals and young children such as infants. Yet, if true, this raises the question of where and how this uniqueness arises. What are the factors that have played out during the life course of the individual and over the evolution of humans that have contributed to the emergence of this apparently unique ability? This volume brings together a collection of world specialists who have grappled with these questions from different perspectives to try to resolve the issue. It includes contributions from leading psychologists, neuroscientists, child and infant specialists, and animal cognition specialists. Taken together, this story leads to the idea that there is no unique ingredient in the emergence of human concepts, but rather a powerful and potentially unique mix of biological abilities and personal and social history that has led to where the human mind now stands. A 'must-read' for students and researchers in the cognitive sciences.
  concept formation in psychology: Readings in Educational Psychology Edgar Stones, 2012-05-04 The papers in this volume relate to the nature and conditions of classroom learning, with particular emphasis on the cognitive aspects. They are concerned with the question of concept formation and stress the importance of the teacher’s function in ensuring that the child really has assimilated the ideas and not merely the words for the concepts. The role of language is fundamental to this theme, and the interaction of language, thinking and learning is dealt with in the first section of the book. This section also provides a context within which subsequent discussions of classroom learning problems can be viewed. Some problems concerning the elaboration of a general theory of teaching are then examined with particular reference to possible methods of bridging the gap between research and implementation.
  concept formation in psychology: The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics M. Gareth Gaskell, Gerry Altmann, 2007 The ability to communicate through spoken and written language is one of the defining characteristics of the human race, yet it remains a deeply mysterious process. The young science of psycholinguistics attempts to uncover the mechanisms and representations underlying human language. This interdisciplinary field has seen massive developments over the past decade, with a broad expansion of the research base, and the incorporation of new experimental techniques such as brain imaging and computational modelling. The result is that real progress is being made in the understanding of the key components of language in the mind. The Oxford Handbook of Psycholinguistics brings together the views of 75 leading researchers in psycholinguistics to provide a comprehensive and authoritative review of the current state of the art in psycholinguistics. With almost 50 chapters written by experts in the field, the range and depth of coverage is unequalled. The contributors are eminent in a wide range of fields, including psychology, linguistics, human memory, cognitive neuroscience, bilingualism, genetics, development and neuropsychology. Their contributions are organised into six themed sections, covering word recognition, the mental lexicon, comprehension and discourse, language production, language development, and perspectives on psycholinguistics. The breadth of coverage, coupled with the accessibility of the short chapter format should make the handbook essential reading for both students and researchers in the fields of psychology, linguistics and neuroscience.
  concept formation in psychology: Human Memory Gordon H. Bower, 2013-10-22 Human Memory: Basic Processes provides information pertinent to the fundamental aspects of human memory. This book provides a general theoretical framework for human memory, information processing, and retrieval. Organized into seven chapters, this book begins with an overview of the permanent features of memory. This text then outlines several experimental findings that support a multiple-store model of memory, with emphasis on the free recall with extension made to other recall tasks. Other chapters describe the results of a number of experiments designed to test specific models that can be obtained from the overall theory. This book discusses as well the permanent, structural features of the memory system. The final chapter deals with the representation of the memory trace of an event in terms that are compatible with the multicomponent theory. This book is a valuable resource for advanced students in experimental psychology. Psychological researchers will also find this book useful.
  concept formation in psychology: Mindset Carol S. Dweck, 2007-12-26 From the renowned psychologist who introduced the world to “growth mindset” comes this updated edition of the million-copy bestseller—featuring transformative insights into redefining success, building lifelong resilience, and supercharging self-improvement. “Through clever research studies and engaging writing, Dweck illuminates how our beliefs about our capabilities exert tremendous influence on how we learn and which paths we take in life.”—Bill Gates, GatesNotes “It’s not always the people who start out the smartest who end up the smartest.” After decades of research, world-renowned Stanford University psychologist Carol S. Dweck, Ph.D., discovered a simple but groundbreaking idea: the power of mindset. In this brilliant book, she shows how success in school, work, sports, the arts, and almost every area of human endeavor can be dramatically influenced by how we think about our talents and abilities. People with a fixed mindset—those who believe that abilities are fixed—are less likely to flourish than those with a growth mindset—those who believe that abilities can be developed. Mindset reveals how great parents, teachers, managers, and athletes can put this idea to use to foster outstanding accomplishment. In this edition, Dweck offers new insights into her now famous and broadly embraced concept. She introduces a phenomenon she calls false growth mindset and guides people toward adopting a deeper, truer growth mindset. She also expands the mindset concept beyond the individual, applying it to the cultures of groups and organizations. With the right mindset, you can motivate those you lead, teach, and love—to transform their lives and your own.
CONCEPT Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of CONCEPT is something conceived in the mind : thought, notion. How to use concept in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Concept.

CONCEPT Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster
Synonyms for CONCEPT: notion, conception, stereotype, theory, generalization, hypothesis, saying, generality; Antonyms of CONCEPT: fact, reality, actuality

CONCEPT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
CONCEPT definition: 1. a principle or idea: 2. to not understand about something: 3. a principle or idea: . Learn more.

Concept - Wikipedia
In a physicalist theory of mind, a concept is a mental representation, which the brain uses to denote a class of things in the world.

Concept - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
A concept is a thought or idea. If you're redecorating your bedroom, you might want to start with a concept, such as "flower garden" or "outer space." It's a general idea about a thing or group of …

CONCEPT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
a general notion or idea; conception. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct. a directly conceived or intuited object of thought. a …

concept noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage …
Definition of concept noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

CONCEPT | definition in the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary
CONCEPT meaning: an idea or principle: . Learn more.

Concept - definition of concept by The Free Dictionary
1. a general notion or idea; conception. 2. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct. 3. a directly conceived or intuited object of …

Concept Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
An idea or thought, esp. a generalized idea of a thing or class of things; abstract notion. An original idea, design, etc.; conception. A central or unifying idea or theme. A concept …

CONCEPT Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster
The meaning of CONCEPT is something conceived in the mind : thought, notion. How to use concept in a sentence. Synonym Discussion of Concept.

CONCEPT Synonyms: 70 Similar and Opposite Words - Merriam-Webster
Synonyms for CONCEPT: notion, conception, stereotype, theory, generalization, hypothesis, saying, generality; Antonyms of CONCEPT: fact, reality, actuality

CONCEPT | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
CONCEPT definition: 1. a principle or idea: 2. to not understand about something: 3. a principle or idea: . Learn more.

Concept - Wikipedia
In a physicalist theory of mind, a concept is a mental representation, which the brain uses to denote a class of things in the world.

Concept - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms - Vocabulary.com
A concept is a thought or idea. If you're redecorating your bedroom, you might want to start with a concept, such as "flower garden" or "outer space." It's a general idea about a thing or group of …

CONCEPT Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com
a general notion or idea; conception. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct. a directly conceived or intuited object of thought. a …

concept noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes ...
Definition of concept noun in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

CONCEPT | definition in the Cambridge Learner’s Dictionary
CONCEPT meaning: an idea or principle: . Learn more.

Concept - definition of concept by The Free Dictionary
1. a general notion or idea; conception. 2. an idea of something formed by mentally combining all its characteristics or particulars; a construct. 3. a directly conceived or intuited object of thought. 4. …

Concept Definition & Meaning - YourDictionary
An idea or thought, esp. a generalized idea of a thing or class of things; abstract notion. An original idea, design, etc.; conception. A central or unifying idea or theme. A concept restaurant with a …