Full Idea
By five children assume that a variety of categories have rich inductive potential, are stable over outward transformations, include crucial nonobvious properties, have innate potential, privilege causal features, can be explained causally, and are real.
Gist of Idea
Children accept real stable categories, with nonobvious potential that gives causal explanations
Source
Susan A. Gelman (The Essential Child [2003], 06 'Intro')
Book Reference
Gelman,Susan A.: 'The Essential Child' [OUP 2005], p.136
A Reaction
This is Gelman's helpful summary of the findings of research on childhood essentialising, and says the case for this phenomenon is 'compelling'.