Investigating Relational Framing of Categorization in Young Children

The aims of the current study were to measure patterns of relational framing linked with categorization in young, typically developing children and to correlate framing performance with linguistic and cognitive potential as measured by standardized instruments, including the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Fourth Edition (PPVT–4), the Stanford–Binet Intelligence Scales—Fifth Edition (SB5), and the Children’s Category Test (CCT). The relational protocol developed for this study assessed properties of relational framing in 3 relational domains, including nonarbitrary and arbitrary containment relations and arbitrary hierarchical relations. There were 50 participants, 10 from each of the following age ranges: 3–4, 4–5, 5–6, 6–7, and 7–8. The results provided data concerning the acquisition of relational categorization skills across childhood and also showed strong correlations between relational performance and that on each of the 3 standardized measures. The results are discussed in relation to previous research and for their implications in regard to future studies on relational framing and categorization in children.