book review gopnik alison andrew n meltzoff 1997 words thoughts theories cambridge mit press 268 pages 14 paperback reviewd laura wagner university massachusetts gopnik meltzoff gm written book full ideas information interested representations world look like pushing view call theory theory representations organized around theories argue children representations world also organized around theories developmental changes children undergo fact changes theories even argue theory revisions children make precisely type scientific theory revisions difference 9 month old 18 month old essentially newtonian physicist einsteinian physicist possess qualitatively different theories world works use words title refers two claims gm make one children early vocabulary reflects technical notions theory du jour two linguistic elements act part evidence children use theory building book divided three sections addition introduction conclusion first section addresses theoretical commitments theory theory relates theories cognitive organization development second section examines three domains knowledge evidence children changing theories third section neo whorfian flavor addresses question different languages could effect children theorybuilding part 1 theory theory section gm face head certainly difficult claims swallow namely children early theories world qualitatively scientific theories subject revision ways acknowledging many differences ways scientists infants operate nevertheless maintain construct sorts theories ways theories abstract general therefore provide means making predictions variety domains groups concerned match theory world maintain theory long evidence supports evidence mounts theory theory holder goes transitional state actively seeking new sorts evidence conducting experiments developing new technical vocabulary settle new better theory one gm strong claims standard adult theory socalled folkphysics folkpsychology e g principle open revision developed response inadequate child theories world scientific theories revised need arises second chapter section compares theory theory two prominent cognitive models modularity empirical generalizations e g scripts connectionism gm present theory theory substitute either models completely taking roles thus respect modularity theory theory accounts well many central cognitive processes less perceptually oriented modular processes respect empirical generalizations theory theory better equipped deal things like causal linkages provide deeper level explanation general generalizations may still form important basis creation theories part 2 evidence theory theory part 2 consists three chapters take different knowledge domain show theory theory explain children development areas chapter 4 deals children theories appearances addresses children development respect object permanence chapter 5 takes children theories action causality animate inanimate things chapter 5 addresses children developing theories natural kinds chapter discusses adult theory domains looks like marshals experimental evidence demonstrates infant initial theory looks like subsequent revisions theory children make domain argue children make crucial theory changes around ages 9 months around age 18 months gm report results many experiments large number conducted g amply illustrate children competence domains changes improves age experimental evidence times augmented anecdotal accounts infants affectively interact different tasks different ages gm looking scientific behavior children therefore important children pass tasks get older theories get better view tasks differently get older point examples emotional consternation infants show around time theories putatively changing thus 15 month old fail find object secretly moved new hiding place unperturbed failure 21 month old find object new place unimpressed success 18 month old however deeply disturbed fails structure task whole joyful success gm argue affective differences reflect something like blaseness normal science compared eureka moments mark theory change respect linguistics one claims chapters early utterances may correspond technical vocabulary newly formed theories gm arguments particularly intriguing respect performative utterances gone uhoh quite frequent speech 18 month olds largely ignored language acquisition studies claim example emergence word gone child speech closely linked children ability solve invisible displacement task object secretly moved new hiding place gone indicates object sight reason effect technical term reflecting concept infant new theory part 3 language thought previous chapters kinds evidence gm suggested driving theory formation revision arose primarily children interactions objects actions people world chapter gm note language part child world different languages could principle provide different kinds evidence since children theories innately given presumed constructed basis evidence get world different kinds linguistic evidence could lead different theories least different rates theory formation find support effects language theory building series longitudinal crosslinguistic studies looking children acquiring korean english cover experiments detail gist appears korean verbcentric english nouncentric linguistic difference translates korean children developing theories action quickly english counterparts turn develop theories natural kinds quickly korean children evaluation despite fact theory theory informs active psychological research program book primarily book philosophy thus results large number experimental investigations discussed one experiment discussed sufficient detail critically evaluated reader already well acquainted cognitive developmental literature may find somewhat confused perhaps somewhat unconvinced gm able draw conclusions experiments reported problem might remedied extent detailed explanations one two experiments could act representative examples use diagrams depicting sorts tasks used test infants diagrams summary tables would helpful general theory theory dynamic form gm trace two three theory changes within three different knowledge domains critical point theory change comes clearly many details get lost mass information summary table describing different theories perhaps evidence leads theory revision would useful reference although gm devote entire chapter persuading reader infant theory development scientific theory development ultimately argument remains unconvincing insistence point throughout book effect lessening force claims rather strengthening many reasons skeptical link two sets theory builders think compelling reason reject argument seems grave injustice entrenchment folkscientific reasoning nutshell adult folkscience stable level knowledge may even principle subject revision gm try argue powerful intuition two ways first point fact science moved beyond folk theories theories cant last word true agree einsteinian physics probably true e better model world folkphysics still stuck inadequate theory gm appeal division knowledgelabor claim theory really changed societal level highlights fact common person folkscience unrevisable gm second argument folkscience open revision imagine world would require different theory frequently invoke tv show star trek illustrating world fantasy argument leaves entirely cold partially strong intuitions gm seem example status objects star trek transporter beam partially believe placing far heavy burden piece popular fiction noted however rejecting extreme gm claims fundamentally undermine arguments knowledge organized around theories developmental change reflects changes children theories even children theories type scientific theories analyzing knowledge terms kind theory children development form theory change still intriguing compelling perspective take sum gm raised number extremely interesting questions nature knowledge representation nature theories nature cognitive development relationship language cognitive development offer theory theory way address questions although one might believe theory theory actually answers certainly important view debate reviewed laura wagner department psychology university massachusetts amherst research centers children acquisition tense aspect