Functional and shape influences on generalization of object categories : a comparison between normally developing children and children with Down Syndrome

This study investigates conceptual learning and generalization processes in children with Down syndrome compared to typically developing children matched on mental age. First, it examines their ability to acquire the relationship between an object’s function, a salient physical feature, and its lexical label. Second, it explores the extent to which both groups generalize the learned function-structure association to objects that have undergone perceptual (i.e., structural) transformations. Finally, the study assesses the influence of perceptual similarity between training and transfer stimuli on children’s ability to correctly classify objects based on functional features. These questions aim to elucidate the cognitive mechanisms underlying conceptual development and category formation in populations with intellectual disabilities.