Chapter 2: What Kind of Things Are Concepts?

This chapter sets out an account of what we mean by concepts. It is argued that: concepts act as categories; concepts are abstractions from experience; concepts are mental entities; concepts are tools used in thinking; concepts are only apparent when activated; and, concepts act as nodes in a conceptual network. These characteristics are explored and examples given. The distinction between the sometimes very labile nature of a person's concepts-in-action, and the relatively stable underlying structures underpinning the activation of concepts is highlighted given that research both shows that student conceptions often seem inconsistent, and that it may be difficult to facilitate desired conceptual change.