Lecture 9 Flashcards
Categorisation (9 cards)
What is categorisation?
The mental process of grouping similar objects, events, or ideas.
Why is categorisation important?
It reduces cognitive load and enables efficient processing and inference.
What is prototype theory?
We categorise items by comparing them to an idealised average or ‘prototype’ of the category.
What is exemplar theory?
We categorise items by comparing them to specific instances (exemplars) stored in memory.
What is the classical (rule-based) theory of categorisation?
Categories are defined by a set of necessary and sufficient features.
What are family resemblance structures?
Categories with shared but not identical features among members (Rosch, 1975).
What is the typicality effect?
More typical items are recognised and processed faster than atypical ones.
What is the basic-level category?
The most commonly used and informative level (e.g., ‘dog’ rather than ‘animal’ or ‘poodle’).
How does prior knowledge affect categorisation?
It biases how we group items and which features we consider important.
