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perception
You believe objects have a hidden true nature.
Psychological essentialism asserts that people believe certain categories—primarily natural kinds—possess an underlying, unobservable essence that determines their identity.
While Medin & Ortony (1989) established the theory, the 'original vs. replica' example is a later application of essentialist thinking to artifacts, not the foundational argument of that specific paper.
You attach meaning to the object, not the substance.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Medin & Ortony, 1989, Similarity and Analogical Reasoning
- What the check found
- Medin & Ortony defined psychological essentialism for natural kinds. Extending this to artifacts as a core proof is a secondary application of the theory, not the primary focus of the 1989 paper.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.