Parts , Partonomies , and Taxonomies

Partonomies, such as body parts, like taxonomies, such as the animal kingdom, are hierarchical organizations of knowledge based on an asymmetric, transitive relation, part of or kind of. This article reports exploratory work on children's partonomic knowledge, and the relation between partonomic knowledge and use of taxonomic organization. Because parts are elements of both appearance and function, shared parts may facilitate the transition from classification based on perception to classification based on function. Children were more likely to group taxonomically when instances shared parts than when instances did not share parts. For adults, parts rated "good" are functionally significant as well as perceptually salient, for example, the seat of a chair. Perceptually salient parts— those affecting shape or large ones—were detected faster by younger children than were less salient parts.