Ch. 9

Question 1

Conceptual knowledge

Answer 1

Knowledge that enables us to recognize objects and events and to make inferences about their properties

• allows us to make inferences about their properties

Question 2

Definitional approach to categorization

Answer 2

• determine category membership based on whether the object meets the definition of the category
• does not work well
• not all members of everyday categories have the same defining features

Question 3

Family resemblance

Answer 3

-things in a category resemble one another in a number of ways

Question 4

Prototype approach

Answer 4

“Typical”

• average representation of the “typical” member of a category
• characteristic features that describe what members of that concepts are like
• an average of category members encountered in the past

> think of a piece of furniture

Question 5

Typicality effect

Answer 5

Prototypical objects are named first

• highly prototypical objects judged more rapidly
• objects are processed preferentially

Question 6

Sentence verification technique

Answer 6

Smith et al. Example

• read a sentence and then verify if it’s accurate or not
• “an apple is fruit”

Question 7

Exemplar approach

Answer 7

“Specific”

Concept is represented by multiple examples (rather than a single prototype)

• ex: actual category members (not abstract averages )
• to categorize, compare the new item to stored examples

Question 8

Basic level

Answer 8

Special because

Going above basic level = large loss of info

Going below basic level = little gain of info

Question 9

Semantic networks

Answer 9

Concepts are arranged in networks that represent the way concepts are organized in the mind

Collins & Quillian:

• nodes = category/concept
• concepts are linked
• model for how concepts and properties are associated in the mind

Question 10

Hierarchical model

Answer 10

Consists of levels arranged so that more specific concepts, such as “canary” & “salmon” are at the bottom and more general concepts are at higher levels

Question 11

Spreading activation

Answer 11

Activation is the arousal level of a node

• when a node is activated, activity spreads out along all connected links
• concepts that receive activation are primed and more easily accessed from memory

Question 12

Lexical decision task

Answer 12

Participants read a stimuli and are asked to say as quickly as possible whether the team is a word or not

(Dog, cat, smooth, Kahot, tea, coffee, lef)

Question 13

Connectionist approach

Answer 13

Creating computer models that represent cognitive processes

Knowledge is represented in the distributed activity of many units

Question 14

Input units

Answer 14

Activated by stimulation from environment

Question 15

Hidden units

Answer 15

Receive input from input units

Question 16

Output units

Answer 16

Received input from hidden units

Question 17

Superordinate

Answer 17

Global level

Most general category level distinguished

(Ex: furniture)

Question 18

Subordinate

Answer 18

Specific level

Most specific category level distinguished

(Ex: kitchen table)

Question 19

Error signal

Answer 19

Differences between actual activity of each output unit and the correct activity

Question 20

Back-propagation

Answer 20

Error signal transmitted back through the circuit

Indicates how weights should be changed to allow the outputs signal to match the correct signal

The process repeats until the error signal is zero

Question 21

Graceful degradation

Answer 21

Disruption of performance occurs gradually as parts of the system are damaged

Question 22

Category-specific memory impairment

Answer 22

Impairment in which they had lost the ability to identify one type of object but retained the ability to identify other types of objects

Question 23

Sensory-functional (S-F) hypothesis

Answer 23

Explanation of how semantic information is represented in the brain that states that the ability to differentiate living things & artifacts depend on one system that distinguishes senses attributes & another system that distinguishes function

Question 24

Mirror neurons

Answer 24

Neurons that fire when we do a task or when we observe another doing that same task

Question 25

Semantic category approach

Answer 25

Specific neural circuits in the brain for specific categories

Question 26

Crowding

Answer 26

When different concepts within a category share my properties

(Ex: “animals” all share eyes, legs and ability to move)

Question 27

Semantic dementia

Answer 27

Condition which there is a general loss of knowledge for all concepts

Question 28

Anterior temporal lobe

Answer 28

Damage ATL has been connected with semantic deficits in dementia patients and with the savant syndrome