ABSTRACT
Any discussion of intentional conceptual change must carefully consider what is meant by the term, as well as how such change actually occurs in individuals and among groups of people. In this chapter, we consider philosophical definitions of the terms intention, concept, and change, psychological theories and research on intentional conceptual change, and the pragmatics of it. We especially focus on radical conceptual change, in which foundational conceptions of a domain must be changed, such as when learning about evolution and other complex systems, or when our conception of self must be radically transformed in therapy. The first part of the chapter focuses on philosophical definitions; the second part is more psychological and discusses the research on the pragmatics of change in various sociocultural contexts. Finally, we briefly describe a model that aims to explain interactions between the variables that influence intentional conceptual change.
