[Reconsideration of the role of shape similarity in preschooler's inference about word meanings]

This study examined how children used shape similarity information when they inferred the meaning of a novel label which was given to a familiar object. When children were shown two objects similar only in shape (white paper cup and glass), 5 : 7- to 6 : 7-year-old children (N = 28, M = 5 : 11) assigned the novel label only to the object identical to the target, whereas 4 : 7- to 5 : 6-year-old children (N = 28, M 4 : 11) mapped the novel label to all objects within the familiar object category. When children of both age groups (N = 15, M = 5 : 8, range = 5: 3 to 6 : 2; N 12, M = 4 : 10, range = 4 : 3 to 5 : 1) were shown two paper cups identical except color (white paper cup and pink one), children selected both of the two objects. These results showed children in both age groups regarded the objects identical except color as those given the same label; on the other hand, children did not think of the objects similar only in shape as qualified for the same label. Therefore the results imply that what is treated as "shape similarity" in this area of research includes the similarity not only in shape but also in other dimensions such as material.