Chapter 9 Flashcards
What are categories?
Groups of objects that belong to the same class of objects. Does this object fit into category A or B?
Why do we categorize?
Allows us to make inferences and act appropriately. Also reduces the need for constant learning as we can generalize. Provides a lot of information about something, reduces complexity of the world.
What is classical categorization?
AKA the definitional approach- classify objects according to specific rules or definitions (ex: triangle=three sided polygon)
What are some of the problems with classical categorization?
Some objects have no clearcut definition (ex: define a chair). Where is the distinction between certain objects? (ex: A chair and a stool)- fuzzy boundaries. Category members have characteristics, not rules. Graded membership
What is graded membership?
Some items are better members of their category than others.
What is family resemblance?
Category members tend to share certain core features-not all members have every single feature- also an attempt to salvage the definitional approach (accounts for fuzzy boundaries and graded membership).
What is the prototype approach?
Mental representation of the typical/average member of a category based on past experiences. Prototypes depend on the type you usually see (sparse coding). Accounts for graded memberships-items that better resemble the prototype are considered “Better” members of that category.
What are some characteristics of a prototypical object?
High family resemblance, verified more quickly, named first, are affected more by priming
What does it mean when something has high family resemblance?
The more features that an item has in common with most other members of a category, the more prototypical it is.
How do we test if more prototypical objects are verified faster?
Sentence verification technique. Say yes if the sentence is true (an apple is a fruit versus a pomegranate is a fruit). People were much quicker to say yes when it was an apple (more prototypical fruit).
How do we know that prototypical items are usually named first?
Because when asked to write down all the objects in a category, the more prototypical ones are usually listed first.
What was the priming study done for the prototype approach?
People heard the word “green”, were told to ignore it. Then they were shown 1 of 3 sets of coloured circles- 1 was a prototypical green, 1 was a mint green, and 1 was completely different. People were much faster to identify the more prototypical colour than any other.
What is the exemplar approach?
Can explain how we place objects into categories. Involves comparing something against the stored representation-comparing against many exemplars. of actual category members-helps us take into account atypical members, no need for abstraction
What are the pros and cons about the exemplar approach?
Pros-wouldn’t lose information about variability, exceptions
Cons- massive amounts of information to store.
Is the prototype or exemplar approach correct?
Both. Prototype is used for initial category learning, exemplars help us create smaller and more variable categories-adds information about exceptions.
