Week 3: Knowledge Representation And Activation

Question 1

What is mental representation

Answer 1

Mental object, doesn’t have to exist in reality

Question 2

What is a category

Answer 2

• a class of things (eg: ostrich, peacock, sparrow are BIRDS)
• fuzzy sets (no clear definite features)
• defined by either PROTOTYPE (doesn’t have to exist in reality but is avg of everything/ the ideal) or EXAMPLER (specific members drawn from personal experience)

Question 3

What is schema

Answer 3

• an organisational structure for knowledge that comprises a category
• contains: features of category, instances, connections
• types of schemas: role, self, relational, script

Question 4

How does spreading activation work in associative network

Answer 4

When 1 node (knowledge) is triggered through cues/ use, the activation travels along the associative network from 1 node to another and trigger associated nodes. When activation reaches threshold, the node will be activated

Question 5

3 key principles of knowledge activation

Answer 5

1. Availability
2. Accessibility (can increase by priming OR chronic accessibility)
3. Applicability

Question 6

How can chronic accessibility be measured by (HIggins, king article)

Answer 6

Through free association task, looking at

1. Frequency of output
2. Primacy/ sequence of output

Question 7

Priming process consists of:

Answer 7

1. Priming procedure
   - triggering a piece of knowledge using an external stimulus
2. Priming effect
   - influence of activated knowledge on responses

(Shown by how priming participant w -ve words will cause them to have worse impression of ambiguous Donald)

Question 8

What do we prime

Answer 8

1. Semantic concepts: social categories, values, roles
2. Goals: desired end points
3. Cognitive procedure: the way we do stuff

Question 9

How do we prime

Answer 9

1. Content priming: subliminal , supraliminal priming

2. Procedural priming

Question 10

When do you use subliminal > supraliminal (mostly we use supraliminal!)

Answer 10

When really don’t want contrast effect OR need to prove that minimal input does influence. We still use supraliminal most times