Psych 1X03 Categories and Concepts

attention

helps focus finite mental resources on key parts of active scene

memory

recall specific thoughts and behaviours appropriate to your current needs

classification

ability to classify dissimilar objects together in the same group

understanding

ability to evaluate a situation and act appropriately based on prior experiences

communication

ability to describe complex ideas or objects using a single label

the illusion of the expert

the feeling that a task must be simple for everyone because it is simple for oneself

what is prototype theory?

a theory that suggests we categorize objects by comparing them to an internal 'best' or average representation of a given category

how do we categorize objects according to prototype theory?

by comparing them to an internal 'best' or average representation of a given category

what can prototype theory not explain?

why internal representations change over time

what is exemplar theory?

a theory that suggests we categorize objects by comparing them to every previously stored experience in a given category

how do we categorize objects according to exemplar theory?

when encountering a new object we search through every example in our memory that is sufficiently similar

at what age can children categorize and understand hypothetical categorization?

3

can animals categorize using concrete and abstract rules?

yes

categorization

the act of assigning an item to a particular category

categories

set of objects or events in the real world that are grouped together based on similarity

concepts

the mental representation of a category

why are humans better at categorizing than AI?

AI cannot create a category without predefined rules

what is allowing AI to become better at categorizing?

machine learning - AI can learn without a strict set of preprogrammed rules by learning the patterns in an immense dataset

family resemblance

all category members share overlapping features but there is not one specific feature that all category members share

graded membership

some category members are more representative of the category than others because they are more closely related to the category prototype

what theory is graded member ship related to?

prototype theory

borderline members

category members that do not clearly belong inside or outside of a category

old item advantage effect

it is easier to categorize already known objects compared to new objects with the same typicality

if individual members of a category are unique which theory would we be more likely to use?

exemplar theory

when we don't have a lot of knowledge on a category which theory would we be more likely to use?

prototype theory

if we're an expert on a category, which theory would we be more likely to use?

exemplar theory

the classical theory

we could create a definition for each category that includes all category members and excludes everything else, since been dismissed

typicality

how representative a category member is of that category

sentence verification task

subjects are presented with a sentence and they must determine if it is true or false as fast as possible

typicality impacts the speed at which we can categorize. which theory do these results support?

prototype and exemplar theory

ill-defined category

category that can't be defined with rules

well-defined category

category that can be defined with rules

what is essentialism?

the belief that members of a category have deep underlying properties that cause them to be in that category

what type of categories is essentialism more relevant for?

natural kinds

man-made artifacts

objects that are not naturally occurring

what is anomia?

brain disorder where an individual loses their ability to name common objects. these individuals are still able to understand the object's function.

what is category-specific anomia?

having difficulty naming things within a category

what is object agnosia?

brain disorder where individuals cannot recognize objects despite having perfect vision

what do individuals with object agnosia not struggle to recognize?

faces

When can children understand general categories?

3 years old