ABSTRACT
Conceptual change occurs when people learn a new way to think about a class of situations. There are gradations of conceptual change from the simple accumulation of enriching examples to total conceptual replacement (e.g., Tyson, Venville, Harrison, & Treagust, 1997). The history of science provides instances of grand conceptual change, for example, the discovery that disease is due to germs (Thagard, 1996). Developmental psychology has also noted a number of recurrent conceptual changes, for example, children’s developing notion of “alive” (Carey, 1985). Adults too, can experience conceptual change, for example, when becoming parents.
