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Cited by 686Categorization, perception, and languageCognitive Abilities and TestingCognitive Science and Education Research

Mapping the Mind: Domain Specificity in Cognition and Culture

·1994·Cambridge University Press eBooks
DOI 10.1017/cbo9780511752902
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Abstract

What is the nature of human thought? A long dominant view holds that the mind is a general problem-solving device that approaches all questions in much the same way. Chomsky's theory of language, which revolutionised linguistics, challenged this claim, contending that children are primed to acquire some skills, like language, in a manner largely independent of their ability to solve other sorts of apparently similar mental problems. In recent years researchers in anthropology, psychology, linguistic and neuroscience have examined whether other mental skills are similarly independent. Many have concluded that much of human thought is 'domain-specific'. Thus, the mind is better viewed as a collection of cognitive abilities specialised to handle specific tasks than a general problem solver. This volume introduces a general audience to a domain-specificity perspective, by compiling a collection of essays exploring how several of these cognitive abilities are organised.

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Crossref · 10.1017/cbo9780511752902

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  • The effect of social and ecological complexity may be limited to influencing more specialized, and potentially domain-specific, forms of cognition.

    “Our findings suggest that the effect of social and ecological complexity may be limited to influencing more specialized, and potentially domain-specific forms of cognition (188-196).”

    From The evolution of self-control. (2014) · cites this paper as [192]

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Related

Venue
Cambridge University Press eBooks
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published
1994-04-29
DOI
10.1017/cbo9780511752902
OpenAlex
W4301900652
Cited by
685
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 20 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 18 · 2019: 50 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 26 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 9
FWCI
6.16
Type
book
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.cambridge.org/core/terms (unspecified, 5941 d)
Locations
Cambridge University Press eBooks (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Categorization, perception, and language
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Cognitive Science and Education Research
Keywords
domain-specific cognition, Noam Chomsky, language acquisition, cognitive ability, modularity of mind, thinking, cognitive architecture

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