Lecture 19: Concepts and Categorisation

Question 1

What is categorization?

Answer 1

• Organizing sensory experiences into meaningful groups (e.g., people, objects, situations).

Reference: William James (1890): Early sensory experiences are a “blooming, buzzing confusion.”

Question 2

How does language relate to concepts?

Answer 2

Language provides labels for concepts, ranging from single words (e.g., “apple”) to complex expressions (e.g., “American psychologist”).

Question 2

What are concepts?

Answer 2

Mental representations defining commonalities among category members.

Question 3

What is the classical view of concepts?

Answer 3

• Concepts are defined by necessary and sufficient conditions.

Example: A bird is a living animal with feathers.

• Psychological Counterparts:
  Feature Theories (Smith, Shoben, & Rips, 1974): Concepts stored as lists of features.
  Network Theories (Collins & Quillian, 1972): Concepts stored in networks (e.g., “bird IS an animal”).

Question 4

What is prototype theory?

Answer 4

• Concepts are represented by prototypes, and category membership depends on similarity to the prototype.

Example: A robin is a more typical bird than an ostrich.

Question 5

What challenges does prototype theory face?

Answer 5

• Conceptual combination: How do combinations (e.g., “pet fish”) form?
• Ad hoc concepts (Barsalou, 1983): Categories created on the fly (e.g., “things to save in a fire”).
• Mathematical concepts (Armstrong et al., 1983): Prototype effects exist, but definitions are clear (e.g., odd numbers).

Question 6

What is theory theory?

Answer 6

• Concepts are defined by their roles in broader lay or scientific theories.

Example: Tin cans are acceptable, but tin mines are not because of context.
Reference: Murphy & Medin (1985).

Question 7

What are basic-level categories?

Answer 7

• Mid-level categories (e.g., “apple”) are easiest to process.
• Higher categories (e.g., “fruit”) are too diverse, and subcategories (e.g., “Braeburn apple”) are overly specific.

Reference: Rosch et al. (1976).

Question 7

What are concrete concepts?

Answer 7

1. Natural Kinds: People, animals, plants.
2. Artifacts: Man-made objects (e.g., table, building).

Question 8

What are abstract concepts?

Answer 8

• Defined through metaphorical links to concrete concepts.

Example: Abstract states described as containers (“in love,” “fell into depression”).

Reference: Lakoff & Johnson (1980).

Question 9

What is embodied cognition?

Answer 9

• Concepts are tied to sensory and motor experiences.

Example: Understanding “chair” involves knowing how people interact with it.

Question 10

How did Pulvermüller et al. (2005) study embodied cognition?

Answer 10

• Faster responses to leg-related words (e.g., “kick”) occurred after leg region stimulation.

Methodology: TMS applied to motor areas during word processing.

Question 11

What is the Action Compatibility Effect (ACE)?

Answer 11

• Responses are faster when action direction matches sentence meaning.

Example: “Push” vs. “pull.”
Study: Glenberg & Kaschak (2002).
Methodology: Behavioral reaction time tasks.

Question 12

How does spatial congruence support embodied cognition?

Answer 12

• Words presented in congruent locations (e.g., “helicopter” at the top of the screen) are processed faster.

Study: Pecher et al. (2010).
Methodology: Word-location matching tasks.

Question 13

How does context affect shape imagery?

Answer 13

• Sentences activate shape imagery (e.g., “flying bird” vs. “sitting bird”).

Study: Zwaan, Stanfield, & Yaxley (2002).
Methodology: Behavioral task matching pictures to sentence-implied shapes.

Question 14

How does context affect color recall?

Answer 14

• Typical color recall changes with context (e.g., “bear” → brown in woods, white in the Arctic).

Study: Connell & Lynott (2009).
Methodology: Stroop-like tasks comparing color recall based on sentence context.

Question 15

How do classical and prototype theories differ in explaining concepts?

Answer 15

Classical theories rely on necessary and sufficient conditions, while prototype theory uses typical examples.

Question 16

What role does embodied cognition play in understanding concepts?

Answer 16

Sensory and motor systems influence conceptual processing, as shown by studies on shape, action, and spatial congruence.

Question 17

How do abstract concepts rely on metaphors?

Answer 17

Abstract concepts (e.g., “in love”) are understood through metaphorical links to concrete experiences.

Question 18

Why are basic-level categories important?

Answer 18

Basic categories (e.g., “apple”) are cognitively efficient for differentiation and recall.