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Annual Review of Anthropology

Volume 40, 2011

Concepts and Folk Theories*

Abstract

Human cognition is characterized by enormous variability and structured by universal psychological constraints. The focus of this article is on the development of knowledge acquisition because it provides important insight into how the mind interprets new information and constructs new ways of understanding. We propose that mental content can be productively approached by examining the intuitive causal explanatory “theories” that people construct to explain, interpret, and intervene in the world around them, including theories of mind, biology, or physics. A substantial amount of research in cognitive developmental psychology supports the integral role of intuitive theories in human learning and provides evidence that they structure, constrain, and guide the development of human cognition.

Keyword(s): anthropology of mind, biological theories, children, cognition, psychology, theory of mind
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2011-10-21
2025-05-18
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Concepts and Folk Theories*
Annual Review of Anthropology 40, 379 (2011); https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-anthro-081309-145822
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