cog final exam Flashcards
Why don’t definitions work well as a form of categorization
- not good for natural objects
not all members of everyday categories have the same defining features.
Explain the prototype approach of finding the average case.
features that are common creates average of category members encountered in the past
give an example of prototypical objects that have high family resemblance with other catgeory members
Sparrows = high family resemblance = many overlapping features with other birds
Penguins = low family resemblance = few overlapping features
explain the method sentence verification technique. in the green study
Green study
Say “yes” if two identical colors are presented
Say “no” if two different colors are presented
The word “green” primes the yes-response – but more for prototypical greens
What causes prototypical objects to be named first
Naming effect
Prototypical objects are more effected by the __________
Priming effect
Whats an exemplar
an actual category member, not abstract averages.
Based on previous experiences with that category
Which approach works better Prototypes or exemplars?
Exemplars work best for small categories:
- U.S Presidents
Prototypes work best for large categories
- Birds
Prototypes are better for learning new categories early on.
Whats special about basic level categories
tends to be more psychologically privileged
Name objects at this level
more info
How do we demonstrate the specialties of the basic level categories by naming things
- name objects at this level and either gain object info or lose object info
- global level: Lose a lot of specific info
Basic level: balances info
specific level: gain a lot of info
How can Knowledge affect categorization
If you’re very knowledgeable on a subject you might categorize things differently more specifically or less
discrimation
behavioral bias that dis/advantages people based on group membership
intra-group similarity
the belief that individuals within a group are more similar than they actually are.
Semantic Networks
Made of nodes and links
node: representation of a category or concept
link: representation of relationship between categories/concepts
- indicates how these are connected, not just whether they’re connected.
explain the lexical decision task
Their task is to indicate as quickly as possible whether each entry is a word or a nonword. For example, the correct response for bloog would be “no” and for bloat would be “yes.”
Concepts that receive activation are primed & more easily accessed
measured Distance between concepts predicts how long it will take to retrieve info
what are the criticisms of collins and quillions model
theory couldn’t explain the typicality effect, (reaction times for statements about an object are faster for more typical members of a category than for less typical members)
Thus, the statement “A canary is a bird” is verified more quickly than “An ostrich is a bird,” but the model predicts equally fast reaction times because “canary” and “ostrich” are both one node away from “bird.”
connectionist model
Model of organization made up of layers of units and weights
what is the connectionist model made up of
Unit – like a neuron; processes incoming info
Input unit – activated by the perception
Hidden unit – processing
Output unit – release knowledge
Weight – represents how likely it is to activate the next unit
How are concepts represented in a connectionist model
- untrained network tries to respond to the stimulus
- correct response is provided to the network
- back propagation - error transmitted backward to indicate certain signals shouldn’t be sent
- weights are modified to match the correct response`.
what are the 4 proposals about how concepts are represented in the brain
- The sensory-functional Hypothesis
- the Multiple-factor approach
- the semantic category approach
The sensory-functional Hypothesis
our ability to differentiate living things and artifacts depends on a memory system that distinguishes sensory attributes and a system that distinguishes functions.
The multiple-Factor approach
Seeking to describe how concepts are represented in the brain by searching for multiple factors that determine how concepts are divided up within a category.
The Semantic Category Approach
An approach to describing how semantic information is represented in the brain that proposes that there are specific neural circuits for some specific categories.
conceptual peg hypothesis:
concrete nouns create images that other words can hang on to, which enhances memory for these words. like truck or tree vs truth or justice
used a paired-associate learning technique.
