Genetic analysis on color concept construction process: Looking for operational invariants

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of an ongoing longitudinal research study. The study involved 63 children, aged 8 to 10, who were students in a public school in Brazil. The objective of this research was to identify the operational invariants used by children when constructing color concepts in situations using a projector. We analyzed the solutions proposed by the children and their own draws, employing Bardin's Content Analysis as our methodological approach. By applying the Theory of Conceptual Fields, we identified their operational invariants. The results indicate that children's understanding of colors stems from their ability to differentiate between different levels of brightness and darkness. Our original contribution lies in the use of Conceptual Fields Theory's analytical framework to evaluate the conceptualization process of colors in a broader context.

Keywords

• Conceptualization process
• Scheme
• Theory of conceptual fields