19. Concepts and Categorisation Flashcards
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____’”
categories, concepts
sensory
confusion
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 ….
- types, consistently, achieve our aims
- common
- labels, single words, longer expressions
A concept tells us…
what makes something a member of a category
What are two types of theories that turn the classical view of concepts into a psychological theory of how concepts are stored and used?
- Feature theories –> we store the sets of conditions as lists of features
- Netwrok theories –> we store concepts in networks with IS and HAS links (e.g. BIRD is ANIMAL; BIRD has FEATHERS)
Rosch stated f____ or n____ l____ are not all that matters. T____ members of categories are processed more e____ than a____ members
features, network links
Typical, easily, atypical
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
- Concepts, prototypes
- category membership, closet
- prototypes, exemplars
- exemplars, conceptual
What are three main problems of the Prototype Theory?
- Conceptual combination (We don’t just use individual concepts, we can combine them)
- Ad Hoc Concepts (put together on the fly, and therefore not stored in memory)
- 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)
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 what?
scientific concepts, scientific theories
Deals well with conceptual combination
Who proposed the idea of basic level categories and when?
Eleanor Rosch et al. 1976
What is the main idea of Lakoff and Johnson’s “Metaphors We Live By”? (1980)
Abstract concepts are understood via networks of (metaphorical) links to concrete concepts
Not just “figures of speech” but fundamental conceptual frameworks
Applied TMS (Transcortical Magnetic Stimulation) to motor brain regions
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 what about language?
Language is not modular or abstract but an integrated part of experience
What is the Action Compatibility Effect (ACE)?
The response in the same direction as the action described
Responses are quicker than with the opposite pairings (“close”/pull towards; “open”/push away)
What did Pecher et al. find with embodied cognition?
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)
The way we t____ is shaped by our p____ e____ experience
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)
L____, t____ and c____ are fundamentally intertwined
Language, thought, concepts
