Cognition Chapter 7 (Knowledge And Representations)

Question 1

What is a concept

Answer 1

It is a mental representation of classes
We use concepts to recognize and to distinguish objects
All high-level mental activity (memory, problem solving) involves concepts in a hierarchical structure

Question 2

What is the theory of definitional approach in concepts

Answer 2

Some concepts have clear definitions
Every object should be assigned to a concept equally easy (not true)
(Even number can be divided by 2)

Question 3

Explain the theory of prototype approach in concepts with typicality and family resemblance

Answer 3

It uses typicality and Family resemblance
The object with the highest family resemblance could be the prototype of the concept.
Wheter an object is in a category depends on how similar it is to the prototype
The thing is that not all concepts have a prototype (color, art)

Question 4

Explain the Exemplar based approach in concepts

Answer 4

Categories have many stored example which belong to its name (small dog, big dog, fat dog…)
This way there is more variability ready

Question 5

Explain the knowledge based approach in concepts

Answer 5

Instead of Similarities categories are established through knowledge of them
Causality between attributes is very important

Question 6

What is essentialism in concepts with its 3 types of concepts

Answer 6

All members of a category share some essential key property
There are 3 types of concepts
1. Nominal (clearly defined)
2. Natural (naturally occurring)
3. Artefacts (made by humans)

Natural concepts are sensitive to molecular transformation (what it is made out of)
Artefact concepts are sensitive to functional transformation

Question 7

Explain grounded and amodal representations in concepts

Answer 7

How are concepts stored
1. Amodal (do not require sensory codes and are abstract)
2. Grounded (do require sensory codes like simulation or reanactment)
Objects are easier recognized while doing relateable movement

Question 8

What is typicality

Answer 8

typicality is the extent to which an object is representative for a category
How good is the object as an example for its concept?

Question 9

What is family resemblance

Answer 9

It is how many times an attribute of one object appears in others.
It correlates heavily with typicality
The object with the highest family resemblance is the prototype for that category

Question 10

How is the prototype and the exemplar based approach evaluated

Answer 10

They both are based on similarities and shared features
The relation between typicality and family resemblance is less clear for ad hoc categories (categories for a certain goal)

Question 11

What are the 6 theories of concept processing

Answer 11

1. Definitional (Objects have clear definitions)
2. Prototype (there is a prototype for every concept)
3. Exemplar-based (a category has many examples stored)
4. Knowledge-based (knowledge makes categories and recognition (causal))
5. Essentialism (a essential feature or property makes cagetories)
6. Grounded vs Amodal (involves sensory or not sensory processing and simulation)

Question 12

What is imagery

Answer 12

When we think about an object and create a visual image of it.
These are usually less vivid but more controllable

Question 13

Does imagining stuff interfer with actual real processing?

Answer 13

Imagining (visuo-spatial processing) something visual and audial uses the VSSP and the phonological loop, which means imagining and actual perception use the same neural structures
Research shows that the neural activity si the same when seeing and imagining objects and were able to predict thoughts

Question 14

Explain what is special when scanning and rotating images by thought

Answer 14

When imagining an image, properties are faster recalled when the location is focused on.
When asked to rotate an image in mind, the time it takes to answer increases with the angle the object has to be rotated
–> Mental images are similar to real perception