concepts and knowledge

Question 1

Memory differences from knowledge: London Taxi drivers example

Answer 1

London taxi drivers have to memorize the spatial layout of london - because of this, they perform better on tests of spatial memory than people who don’t have to memorize london, like bus drivers (just follow the same route)

• because of this, taxi drivers have greater posterior (but smaller anterior) hippocampi
• additionally, posterior hippocampal volume is related to years of experience as a taxi driver

Question 2

highly superioer autobiographical memory (HSAM)

Answer 2

people who have enhanced autobiographical memory (can remember every single day from their lives in detail)
- doesn’t involved mnemonic strategies - and hsam people aren’t any better than the average person at any other form of memory

Question 3

downsides of a detailed memory

Answer 3

case of perfect detailed memory
- was able to recall conversations word for word
- recall detailed events from years ago
- could reproduce 70 digits without error

however, this resulted in problems accessing general concept knowledge - e.g. recognizing items if there is a slight change in detail

Question 4

categories vs concepts vs exemplars

Answer 4

categories: items that are grouped together
concepts: general knowledge of a category
exemplars: individual items in a category

Question 5

function of concepts

Answer 5

used to predict outcomes, guide behaviour, and for communication

Question 6

concept organization

Answer 6

superordinate concepts: mammal, fish, etc
basic: deer, dog, trout
subordinate: terrier, spaniel, hammerhead shark

Question 7

cognitive economy

Answer 7

a balance between simplification and differentiation

using the simplest terms that are still meaningful for the situation

Question 8

concepts in child development

Answer 8

children learn basic, superordinate, then subordinate concepts

Question 9

concepts in semantic dementia

Answer 9

ability to use basic level concepts becomes impaired as the disease progresses gets replaced with more general concepts

Question 10

generalization

Answer 10

process of a deriving a concept from a specific experience

three ways of forming generalizations
- rules
- similarity
- explanation

Question 11

Defining features - classic approach

Answer 11

necessary and sufficient for category membership

Question 12

characteristics features - classic approach

Answer 12

are those common but not essential for category membership

Question 13

classic approach to concept learning

Answer 13

concepts involve forming rules about lists features
- defining and characteristics features

feature comparison between encountered items and list - refines what a defining feature is for a concept

Question 14

downsides to the classic approach to concept learning

Answer 14

works well for simple concepts, but not so much for
- complex concepts that are subject to variability
- ambiguous concepts

Question 15

similarity

Answer 15

concepts are not based on defined features, rather are defined by the resemblance to a collection of features

often times there is no single attribute that defines a concept, rather there is a family resemblance, or some inherent similarity

Question 16

fuzzy boundaries in categories

Answer 16

items are, more or less, part of a category

however, an item can be categorized into more than one category

Question 17

prototype theory

Answer 17

categories are formed from the overlap of exemplars - these are extracted from experience

each category has an abstracted prototype that is pre stored in memory - this represents the most common features with other members

items are included in a category network around that prototype - similar items are stored closer to the prototype than dissimilar items

Question 18

prototype theory dot patterns

Answer 18

ps learn to classify dot patterns that were variants of a prototype, but didn’t get to see the prototype

then, classified the studied patterns, new patterns, and the prototype into groups

ps were worse at classifying new compared to old patterns and were equally able to classify prototype and old patterns

Question 19

prototype

Answer 19

abstracted exemplar - other members resemble the prototype to different degrees

Question 20

prototype network

Answer 20

a network web like thing with the prototype in the centre and other members of the category branching out - the more obscure members are farther away from the prototype in the network

Question 21

typicality effect

Answer 21

a preference for processing items close to the prototype
- means that we are faster to recognize things closer to the prototype

Question 22

prototype theory and context

Answer 22

prototype theory treats context as independent - doesn’t account for how a situation determines concept representations

this is a downfall bc context affects the typicality effect

Question 23

exemplar theory

Answer 23

no single abstract prototype for a concept - instead, every instance of a category is stored in memory, not a prototype

explains how context can influence concept representations - bc we use personal experience and situation information to form concepts at retrieval

Question 24

how to determine if a new item is a member of a category exemplar theory

Answer 24

retrieve some or all exemplars of category members - compute similarity to new item at the time of concept determination

Question 25

brain networks in representations

Answer 25

prototype and exemplars engage different brain networks

meets different task demands + holding multiple representations supports flexible thought

Question 26

specificity task

Answer 26

exemplar

Question 27

generalized task

Answer 27

prototype

Question 28

knowledge based theories

Answer 28

explanation rather than similarity based view of concept categorization

uses implicit intuitive knowledge

Question 29

essentialism

Answer 29

the idea that certain categories have an underlying reality or true nature that one cannot observe

Question 30

embodied view of concepts

Answer 30

concepts are accessed as a function of the environment and current goals

concepts are processed in different brain networks and shift depending on what is being accessed from a concept

Question 31

ad hoc categories

Answer 31

a category concept that is invented for a specific purpose or goal

brings together dissimilar members into a single temporary category to meet a goal - related to creativity

Question 32

how is ADHD linked to creativity

Answer 32

conceptual expansion, a process of thinking outside traditional conceptual boundaries

Question 33

embodiment and the brain

Answer 33

knowledge is stored as sesorimotor neural representations

the particular representation is accessed as a function of what sensorimotor domain is required

Question 34

perceptual symbols system

Answer 34

perception and concepts knowledge are linked as ‘perceptual symbols’

activating a concept will engage certain sensory perceptions to engage mental simulation as a function of the goals of the current task

Question 35

property verification tasks

Answer 35

provide support to perceptual symbols system

found that people are faster to respond if a previous trial asked about a feature from the same percept

suggests that we recruit concepts based on senses/perceptions

Question 36

brain activation during passive reading

Answer 36

reading movement words can activate the the brain area that processes that type of movement

ex pick = hand areas
kick = foot area
lick = tongue

supports perceptual symbols system

Question 37

neuropsychological disorders - categories

Answer 37

people can have category specific deficits
- naming living things
- naming non living things

depends on where the brain damage is

Question 38

sensory functional theories

Answer 38

concepts represented by defining feature of that concept
- living things are defined by visual features
- inanimate objects (tools) are defined by functional features