An historicodevelopmental study of the frequency with which construct poles are used.

Abstract
Theorists as diverse as Piaget and Kelly believed that both historical and individual development shows an increase in the ability to think scientifically. A central aspect of scientific thought is the formulation of alternative hypotheses. A category is useful to the extent that it can be employed to contrast one set of events with another. Data are presented indicating that the frequency with which a category (e.g., warm) is used is a function of how long its opposite (e.g., cold) has been available for use, as measured by the date at which the opposite entered the English language. This means that the usefulness of a category is partially determined by the length of time it has been possible to employ the category contrastively. Implications of this finding for studies using other developmental variables (e.g., age of acquisition) are discussed.

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