Categories and Concepts

Question 1

Categorization

Answer 1

allows us to deal with our surroundings quickly and effectively. Decisions are made more efficient by your ability to quickly categorize incoming stimuli. Without the ability to categorize, every sensory experience would be completely unique.

Question 2

4 Functions of Categorization

Answer 2

Treating non-identical objects in a similar manner
Understanding our surroundings
Using current experience to predict future events
Communication

Question 3

Illusion of the Expert

Answer 3

we’re all experts at some things which may seem simple until you realize that not everyone can do them.

Question 4

Dr. Brooks

Answer 4

we think that if a category is easy for us to understand then it must have a simple rule.

Question 5

Human Inability to Articulate Rules

Answer 5

when asked to define rules, we may find it difficult to properly include and exclude items for category membership, yet when given a test stimulus, you can effortlessly define membership.

Humans have an internal representation of categories that is independent of the rules we try to define.

Question 6

Prototype Theory

Answer 6

suggests that we categorize our current experience by comparing it to an internal representation of a category that is the average or best member of that category.
category members that more closely resemble the prototype are categorized more quickly. Prototypes can change over time.

Question 7

Exemplar Theory

Answer 7

suggests that our entire lifetime of experiences are stored and used to categorize out current experiences. Things that have been experienced more frequently are categorized more quickly

Question 8

Dermatologist Experiment

Answer 8

according to exemplar theory, any increase in the number of exemplars would improve categorization performance, where the doctors were affected by a single familiar example.

Question 9

Children and Categories

Answer 9

children as young as 3 are able to develop general categories
members of the same category share similar characteristics
children are able to understand the innate properties of a given category (can change the nature of a machine but not an animal)

Question 10

Animals and Categories

Answer 10

Food vs. Non-Food: learn distinctions relatively quickly and were able to categorize new objects into these categories
Same vs. Different: even with this more abstract categorization task, with practice, the baboons also reached about 90% accuracy.