Logique des classes et catégorisation : une approche développementale

Logic of classes and categorization: adevelopmental approach

• Auteur / Autrice : Pierre Barrouillet
• Direction : Jacqueline Bideaud
• Type : Thèse de doctorat
• Discipline(s) : Psychologie
• Date : Soutenance en 1991
• Etablissement(s) : Paris 5

Mots clés

Mots clés contrôlés

Catégorisation (psychologie)

Résumé

Les recherches recentes concernant les strategies de categorisation du monde reel mises en oeuvre par les adultes ont montre que celles-ci conduisent a des organisations en memoire a long terme presentees comme des structures de representation (schemas et prototypes) qui divergent du modele aristotelicien. Cette divergence a conduit a l'elaboration de modeles developpementaux de doubles systemes de representation et de traitement qui opposent structures de representation et structures logiques (piagetiennes). L'objectif de la these est l'etude du developpement de ces deux types de structures et de leurs rapports entre six et onze ans. L'etude de l'evolution des structures logiques est conduite a l'aide d'epreuves d'inspiration piagetienne engageant des jugements sur les rapports d'inclusion et de complementarite entre classes constituees par l'experimentateur. L'evolution des structures de representation (schemas et prototypes) est evaluee par des epreuves de categorisation libre. Il apparait que les deux types de structures connaissent un developpement parallele et synchrone qui assure en permanence leur compatibilite. L'isomorphisme apparu entre les diverses structures de representation permet leur unification en systemes relationnels qui fournissent les significations. Les structures logiques peuvent, quant a elles, etre modelisees en termes de systemes operatoires normatifs. La structure piagetienne correspondrait alors a l'application de ces systemes d'operations aux contenus elabores par les systemes relationnels de signification.

Recent research on adult categorization strategies suggests that categories are organized in long term memory in the form of representational structures (schemas and prototypes) that diverge from the aristotelian model. This divergence has prompted theorists to put forward developmental dual representation and processing models which contrast representational structures with logical (piagetian) ones. This dissertation aims at studying the development of these two types of structures and their interactions in six to eleven year olds. The development of logical structures is investigated through piagetian-type tasks involving judgements and judgement of experimenter-constructed class complementation. The development of representational structures (schemas and prototypes) is measured by free categorization tasks. The results show that these two types of structures develop in a parallel and synchronous fashion which ensures the permanency of their compatibility. This isomorphism between representational structures enables them to be unified in relational structures that generate meanings. Logical structures are modelled as normative systems of operations. The piagetian structure is argued to correspond to the application of these systems of operations to content elaborated by the relational meaning systems.