ABSTRACT
Language provides an efficient, uniquely human way of transmitting non-obvious category information between individuals and across generations. To explore whether it can serve this purpose even for very young children, we conducted two experiments: one with 24-month-olds, and the other with preschoolers. Children made non-obvious inferences about perceptually misleading animals. Those who heard the animals called by counter-intuitive category labels made inferences different from those who did not hear the labels, demonstrating an important influence of language on thought, even at 24 months of age. However, preschoolers appear to have been less influenced than toddlers, suggesting that there are limits on children’s willingness to accept anomalous category labels.
