Task 2 - Categorization

Question 1

Classical Theory

Answer 1

consider concepts as definition, has mathematical & logical structure
Categroy membership is binary (yes or no)
Concept selects all members as category
Concepts organized using hierarchy of inclusion relations
3 TYPES OF CONCEPTS:
1. simple, defined by attribute
2.conjunctive, several attributes together
3.disjunctive, require at least one attribute being present
DEVELOPING STRATEGIES FOR CATEGORIZATION BC OF LIMITATIONS IN ATTENTION/STM:
1.successive scanning, keeping hypothesis in mind and limiting attention to direct tests of that hyp.
2.conservative focusing, starting with positive instance of concept, then altering this by changing only one feature at time, testing validity with positive instances and ignoring negative instances
3.focus gambling: similar to above, except that more features can be changed
–>choice of strategy affected by contraints (time pressure, limits in memory)
PROBLEMS:
not clear how incorrect information leads to concepts, impossible to identify necessary conditions for many concepts –> different members of concpet share family resemblance, categorization is not stable over time, not all concepts are organized hierarchicly–>difficulties with naturalistic concepts

Question 2

Prototype theory

Answer 2

concepts are organized around PROTOTYPES
–> most typical member of a category
–>represented as set of characteristic features
EVIDENCE SUPPORTING:
concepts have typicality gradient –> some members of category closer to prototypes than others
boundaries between categories are fuzzy or ill defined
EVIDENCE AGAINST:
prototype theories only use surface features, cannut include central attributes, but people rather use central attributes than surface features
some concepts show prototypical structue, other don’t

Question 3

Exemplar-based theories

Answer 3

similarity plays central role
–>we hold many memory representations called EXEMPLARS
we store representation of external object in memory every time we deal with it
–>when object is presented, all instances matching are retrieved
ADVANTAGE OVER PROTOTYPE APPROACH: keeps information about variabiltiy
WEAKNESSES: dissociations have been demonstrated
nothing to say about how concepts are related to each other
no predictions of hierarchy
some concepts can be described using arbitrary definitions

Question 4

Explanation-based theories

Answer 4

–> DO THE BEST JOB
people use common-sense explanations to categorize objects
explanations specify what attributes should be used for categorizing objects
EVIDENCE
idea of linking concepts to other types of knowledge is plausible
explains why classification times sometimes vary depending on tasks
also explains why some concepts seem more natural and coherent than others and why classification can vary between objects
WEAKNESSES
lack of specifity (what is a “theory”)
big amount of cognitive progressing is required
–>when does mind know to stop?

Question 5

Multicultural Identity processes

Answer 5

1. Biculturalism has more benefits for indivudal’s psychological and sociocultural adjustment than monoculturalism
2. Identity denial and identity-based discrimination threaten multicultural individuals’ psychological health and performance
3. Multiculturalism and interculturalism policies are associated with different conceptions and attitudes towards diversity, and have distinc outcomes for multicultural individuals and societies

Question 6

Blindness vs. Awareness

Answer 6

COLORBLINDNESS APPROACH
–>focuses on de-emphasizinh differences between social groups
underlying assupmtion: categorizing individuals leads to conflict –> ignoring social categories reduces negative consequences
opponents suggest: surpressing social categories is not possible (humans have natural tendency to categorize); research shows detection of demographic group info in brain; it ignores unique cultural identities which should be celebrated

MULTICULTURALISM:
–>differences should be recognized and celebrated
group differences can be valuable and meaningful
critics argue: emphasizing differences can create stereotypes and dividions between groups

GENDER IDEOLOGIES:
gender blindness = colorblindness –>men&women trated as individuals
gender awareness = multiculturalism –> differences should be recognized and celebrated

GENERAL DISCUSSION
literature suggests that diversity aware multiculturalistc ideology is associated with more positive outcome for racial-ethnic minorities –>better performance outcomes, increased psychological engagement etc
for women, a gender-blind ideology is prefered