文摘
In her commentary on our article, Mandler (1999) argues that our notion of a single of process of categorization that operates on increasingly abstract or conceptual information as it becomes available is incorrect. Specifically, she argues against two aspects of our view. First, she characterizes our view of categorization as moving from concrete to abstract. Mandler indicates that we have not dealt adequately with literature demonstrating what she sees as a trend for infants' first forming abstract categories and later forming more specific ones. In fact, our view is not characterized by a shift from one type of category to another, but by gradual changes in the kinds of information infants can use in the process of forming categories. Second, she argues against our position that there is a single categorical process that uses different types of information. In this response, we rephrase these questions to emphasize the process of categorization and clarify our position by responding to these questions.