Taxonomic Constraint in early word learning posits mapping a novel label to:

Taxonomic Constraint in early word learning posits mapping a novel label to:

• A. Perceptual properties like color
• B. The function of the object
• C. The location of the object
• D. A category of objects of the same kind (taxonomic) rather than perceptual property

Answer: (D)

The main idea is that young learners tend to map a new word to a category of things of the same kind rather than to perceptual features like color or location. This taxonomic bias means a novel label is applied to other items that belong to the same basic category (dogs with dogs, cars with cars), not to objects that just look similar due to color or shape. This kind of mapping helps build stable vocabulary by tying words to genuine category structure, so the label generalizes across all members of the same kind, not just those that happen to share a perceptual property. In practice, when a child learns a new word for one animal, they’re inclined to extend it to other animals of that kind rather than to objects that merely share color or shape.

The main idea is that young learners tend to map a new word to a category of things of the same kind rather than to perceptual features like color or location. This taxonomic bias means a novel label is applied to other items that belong to the same basic category (dogs with dogs, cars with cars), not to objects that just look similar due to color or shape. This kind of mapping helps build stable vocabulary by tying words to genuine category structure, so the label generalizes across all members of the same kind, not just those that happen to share a perceptual property. In practice, when a child learns a new word for one animal, they’re inclined to extend it to other animals of that kind rather than to objects that merely share color or shape.