Hierarchical Attributes for Categorization

Abstract

120 middle-class white boys and girls of average IQ and ranging in age from 7 to 11 yr. served as Ss in a study dealing with the preference hierarchy of stimulus attributes employed in classification. Items varying in their color, form, and representation were used in a series of preference tasks designed to establish an attribute hierarchy among color, form, and representation. It was hypothesized that the response hierarchy would be color least frequent, form next, and representation most frequent when the three are juxtaposed, but when color and form are juxtaposed, form would be the more dominant. Results indicate that the hypothesis was verified in that form was the more significant preference shown among boys and girls at all ages when form and color were the only two choices offered. Preference for representation was evident for all age groups when the three choices were available.