19. Concepts and Categorisation

Question 1

In 1890, William James said “Without c____ and their corresponding c____, infants don’t separate their s____ experiences into parts, but instead experience ‘one great blooming, buzzing c____’”

Answer 1

categories, concepts
sensory
confusion

Question 2

Fill in the gaps about concepts:
1. We need to recognise t____ of things in order to act c____ and a____ our a____
2. Concepts give a handle on what types of thing have in c____
3. Language gives us l____ for concepts - sometimes …. , sometimes ….

Answer 2

1. types, consistently, achieve our aims
2. common
3. labels, single words, longer expressions

Question 3

A concept tells us what makes something a m____ of a c____

Answer 3

what makes something a member of a category

Question 4

What are two types of theories that turn the classical view of concepts into a psychological theory of how concepts are stored and used?
1. F____ theories –> we s____ the sets of c____ as lists of f____
2. N____ theories –> we s____ concepts in n____ with i____ and h____ links

Answer 4

1. Feature theories –> we store the sets of conditions as lists of features
2. Netwrok theories –> we store concepts in networks with IS and HAS links (e.g. BIRD is ANIMAL; BIRD has FEATHERS)

Question 5

Rosch stated f____ or n____ l____ are not all that matters. T____ members of categories are processed more e____ than a____ members

Answer 5

features, network links
Typical, easily, atypical

Question 6

Fill in the gaps about the prototype theory
1. C____ are represented by p____
2. C____ m____ depends on which prototype a particular thing is c____ to
3. P____ are not themselves represented, only e____ are
4. Clusters of e____ define the bit of c____ space a particular concept occupies

Answer 6

1. Concepts, prototypes
2. category membership, closet
3. prototypes, exemplars
4. exemplars, conceptual

Question 7

What are three main problems of the Prototype Theory?
1. C____ c____
2. A____ h____ concepts
3. M____ concepts

Answer 7

1. Conceptual combination (We don’t just use individual concepts, we can combine them)
2. Ad Hoc Concepts (put together on the fly, and therefore not stored in memory)
3. Mathematical concepts (e.g. odd number - 7 is a more prototypical odd number than 343239089 BUT clear analytical definitions (odd numbers are not divisible by 2) SO not DEFINED by prototypes)

Question 8

The “Theory” theory proposed by Murphy & Media (1985) states s____ c____ are defined by the role they play in s____ t____. The “Theory” theory deals well with c____ c____

Answer 8

scientific concepts, scientific theories
Deals well with conceptual combination

Question 9

Who proposed the idea of basic level categories and when?
E____ R____ et al. 19__

Answer 9

Eleanor Rosch et al. 1976

Question 10

What is the main idea of Lakoff and Johnson’s “Metaphors We Live By”? (1980)
A____ concepts are understood via n____ of (m____) links to c____ concepts
Not just “f____ of s____” but f____ c____ f____

Answer 10

Abstract concepts are understood via networks of (metaphorical) links to concrete concepts
Not just “figures of speech” but fundamental conceptual frameworks

Question 11

Applied TMS (Transcortical Magnetic Stimulation) to motor brain regions resulted in faster reactions to leg-related words (“kick”) with leg region stimulation and faster reactions to arm-related words (“pick”) with arm region stimulation.
This shows language is not m____ or a____ but an i____ part of e____

Answer 11

Language is not modular or abstract but an integrated part of experience

Question 12

What is the Action Compatibility Effect (ACE)?
The r____ in the same d____ as the a____ described
Responses are q____ than with the o____ p____

Answer 12

The response in the same direction as the action described
Responses are quicker than with the opposite pairings (“close”/pull towards; “open”/push away)

Question 13

What did Pecher et al. find with embodied cognition?
Responses were s____ when the type of word did not match the word’s expected p____

Answer 13

Responses were slower when the type of word (e.g. helicopter or whale) did not match the word’s expected position (top for sky words; bottom for ocean words)

Question 14

The way we t____ is shaped by our p____ e____ experience
Language is connected to p____ r____ and p____ centres
Language is not a____ and m____

Answer 14

think, physically embodied
- Language is connected to physical representations and processing centres
- Language is not abstract and modular (i.e. it is not disconnected from experience)

Question 15

L____, t____ and c____ are fundamentally intertwined

Answer 15

Language, thought, concepts

Question 16

Words reflect the embodied experience of e____ in the w____

Answer 16

existing in the world

Question 17

Concepts are needed for m____ s____ of the world and a____ in it

Answer 17

making sense
acting

Question 18

Concepts are embodied in the way we i____ with the w____ and that fact affects their s____ and u____

Answer 18

the way we interact with the world
storage, use