chapter 9: knowledge Flashcards
define schematic knowledge
general knowledge about something in the world that we gain through experience
name the functions of semantic knowledge
- use prior knowledge to make inferences
- helps us predict how to behave in a new situation
- helps us create an organized, connected understanding of the world
define category
set of items that are perceptually, biologically, or functionally similar.
- all items are equivalent
- individual items are called exemplars
define concept
mental representation of objects, ideas or events
- groupings of things “inside” our minds
- depends on how each person assigns meaning to the world
what is the commonsense knowledge problem
computers don’t possess the same commonsense knowledge as humans because knowledge has to be explicit with AI compared to human’s ability to infer implicit knowledge
which of the following statements is correct?
a. poodle is an exemplar of the dog category
b. poodle is an exemplar of a dog feature
c. poodle is a feature of the dog category
d. poodle is a category of a dog concept
a. poodle is an exemplar of the dog category
explain the classical view of categorization
categories are well-defined by clear features that are necessary and sufficient
use the example of the grandmother category to explain the necessary and sufficient features
must have a child who is a parent (necessary)
but no other criteria: can be senior, have gray hair, etc (sufficient)
Wittgenstein identified a problem with the classical view of categorization. what was it?
nearly impossible to identify defining category features for most categories
- look for features that exemplars have in common to determine category membership
what is a typicality rating
an experimental task in which Ps rate how good an exemplar is of a category
define typicality effects
observations that we behave differently toward typical items compared to atypical ones
describe the procedure called lexical decision task
Ps are shown a string of letters on a computer and are asked to indicate whether they spell a real word or not
define semantic priming
occurs when a person’s response time on a task is faster if it is preceded by a semantically related word compared to a word that isn’t semantically related
- phenomena of lexical decision task
give 4 examples of typicality effects
- name typical category members before atypical ones
- faster to put typical members into categories than atypical ones
- typical exemplars show larger priming effects than atypical ones
- infants learn typical category members first
what is the prototype theory of categorization
consider which features are most likely among category members
- characteristic features: likely to belong but not required
- fuzzy boundaries
- family resemblance
according to the prototype theory of categorization, what is a prototype?
average of all category members so as a consequence, most typical member of category
according to the prototype theory of categorization, how do you determine whether an item belongs to a category
compare it to the prototype to look for overlapping characteristics
- the more similar, the more typical a category member it is
name 2 problems of the prototype theory of categorization
- typicality depends on the context
- doesn’t account for atypical category members
name and describe the alternate theory of categorization to the prototype theory
exemplar theory of categorization
- compare new items with the ones in memory and look for similarities between features
how does the exemplar theory of categorization explain the problems from the prototype theory
typicality effects: typical items are similar to other category members so it’ll be easier to retrieve those members
context effects: depends on personal experience
what was the conclusion drawn from Dopkins and Gleason’s rectangle categorization experiment
Ps base their categorization on similarity to previously seen exemplars rather than similarity to prototype
what are two things both the prototype theory and the exemplar theory fail to account for
- typicality rating
- doesn’t specify how we decide which features to compare
explain the knowledge-based theory of categorization
- rely on our broad knowledge base to explain reasons for category membership
- implicit