Categories and Concepts

Question 1

attention

Answer 1

a cognitive mechanism that helps you focus finite mental resources on key parts of the active scene

Question 2

memory

Answer 2

the other cognitive mechanism that helps you recall specific thoughts and behaviours which are appropriate to your current needs

Question 3

4 basic functions of categorization

Answer 3

classification, understanding, predicting, communication

Question 4

classification

Answer 4

it allows you to treat objects that appear differently as belonging together
ex: red and green apples are classified together as apples

Question 5

understanding

Answer 5

ex: if we categorize a scene where two people are fighting in the streets, then we understand that they probably do NOT want your opinion

Question 6

predicting

Answer 6

by categorizing your current experience and comparing it to similar experiences in memory, you can make predictions about your current situation
Ex: if you know that the creature in front of you is a dog, you predict that it would like to be scratched behind its ears

Question 7

communication

Answer 7

many of the words in our language refer to some type of category or concept

Question 8

illusion of the expert

Answer 8

the feeling that the task must be simple for everyone since it is simple for oneself

Question 9

prototype theory

Answer 9

we categorize objects by comparing them to an internal “best” representation of a given category
prototypes are formed through experience and are extremely personal

Question 10

exemplar theory

Answer 10

we categorize objects by comparing them to every previously stored experience (Exemplar) in a given category