Unit 4 - Categories and Language

Concept

Mental representation of all things associated with topic

Category

Set of entities/examples described by concept

Functions of Concepts

• Classification

• Understanding

• Prediction

• Reasoning

• Communication

Family Resemblance

Proposed by Wittenstein where category members have feature resemblance to each other but not every member needs to have it

Probalistic Vie

Likelihood certain feature but no neccessary conditions to belong, no sufficient defintions either

Prototype Theory

Depication of ideal object, all judgement about the object is made with reference to ideal

Graded Membership

Some things are more ideal than other

Typicality

How much something resemble prototype

Typicality Rating

Rate how typical ideam is to category, and things closer to prototype are consistently rated

Sentence Verification

Verify if sentences are true, if closer to prototype idea, there’s a faster repsonse

Production

Generate as many examples as possible from category where the most prototypical examples first

Picture Verification

Verify picture, quicker when prototype of category

Ad Hoc Category

Made up category, sometimes never thought before

Basic Level Categories

Categories with a word and are the default orking level that are privileged, learning first and can change depending on knowledge and experience

Hierarchy of Categories

• SUperordinate level

• Basic Category

• Subordinate

Exemplar Theory

Memory of all examples in category are complied together and classification based on comparison of members with the closest one to determine

Prototype vs Exemplar Representation

Abstract vs concrete examples

Why is Exemplar also graded membership?

Memory search is easier when item is statistically common and has lots of examples

Exemplar Features

• Represent variability in information, keeping outliers

• Preserved correlation of features

Why is it easier to change categories with exemplar?

Ideas of category can shift on context, and quickly, different settings can trigger other exemplars

What does Prototype predict as the standard member?

Most typical member

What does Exemplar predict as standard member?

Most statistically common, recent, varying

TAVE Example

• Exemplar predicts have pronounciation because more common

• Prototype predicts save pronounciation because more typical ords have -ave pronounciation

Parallel Prototype Exemplar

Using both standards to create a standard

Theory Based Categorization

Categorizing based on deeper properties, which depends on other beliefs that come from a broader understanding of ideas

Outgroup Homogeneity Effect

People are convinced their ingroup is varied but outgroups are homogenous

Collins and Qullian Ideas are stored in nodes with properties

Common properties are associated wtih broad topic, but there are exceptions there’s a unique one

Semantic Networks

Model of how humans memory organizes categories and members into nodes, reaction time is quicker hen there are fewer nodes

Propositions

Smallest unit of knowledge that can be true or false

Propositional Network

Propositions are represented nonlinguisticallyt as a netork of nodes and links in mind

Connectionist Network

Each idea is reprsented by pattern of activiation across network, many nodles representing concept have to collectively activate nodes to get widespread activation pattern at the same time

Parallel Distributed Processing

System handling information where many steps happen at once and various aspects represented only in a distributed way

Imagery

seeing a picture in your mind

Chronometric Studies

Observing how long it takes to perform particular tasks, the more mental processes, more time and steps

Imagery of Pain

Can’t really remember it or reinstate it like visual memory

Mental Imaging is like

Seeing a picture in your head, but they’re more like sculptures

Hyperphantasia

Can see mental images clearly

Aphantasia

Can’t see mental images at all

Depiction

Form a mental imange

Description

Thinking of the idea

When objects are described

Features more specific and subtle are stronger`

When objects are depicted

Features about size and at the front are stronger

Dual Coding Hypothesis

Information coded and stored in both imagery or verbal is better

Verbal Storage

Some pictures, concrete, abstract words

Imagery Storage

Pictures, concrete words

Concrete Abtract Scale

Scale which something can produce a mental image

Paired Associated Memory Task

Remember the response word that comes with a cue word, when pairs are imaginable it’s rercalled better

Dual Coding

Imageable materials are doubly represented, the word and mental image

Access to symbolic and image memories are easier

with a cue ord and image respectively`

Similarities beteen symbolic and visual

• Depends on memory connections

• Can be primed

• Have encoding specificity

Image Scanning Procedure

Experimental procedure people form a mental image and scan and time with mind’s eye from a point to another

Perception of Objects

Have spatial properties, distance and reaction time are constant

People take longer when

They have to shift their focus and harder to judge appropriateness of feature of animal when it’s smaller in comparison to something

Analog Repesentation

The way something is represented is very proportional to real thing, causing linear relationship

Functional Equivalency

It takes a certain amount of time to perform something which is equivalent to the visual image in your brain

2nd Order Isomorphism

No direct 1:1 memory, but relation betewen memory and real word is the same as reality and objects

Functional Distance

Representation close to picture like where it maintains size, distance

Picture Plane Rotation

Rotate 2D

Rotation in Depth

Flip, rotate 3D

Mental Rotation

Create mental sculptures and rotating it mentally, relying on right hemisphere mechanisms

Demand Character

Cues that might signal how they’re supposed to behave

Mental Folding Task

People must image refolding unfolded template and tell if the to arrow tips meet, relies on both hemispheres

People good at folding aren’t good in

Mental rotation

Percepts

Mental representations of stimulus perceived that’s organized depictions and unambiguous to influence sequence of thoughts

Segal & Fusella Interference

Listening or looking for a faint stimuli while maintaing either visual or auditory image can interfer when they are the same resources

When Imaging brain areas

Similar to proportionally perceiving object are activated, sometimes causing physical reactions, and can prime each other

Cereberal Achromatopsia

Can’t perceive colours and therefore can’t image colours

Visual Neglects

Maintain neglects in their images

Imagery and Perception

Rely on different brain areas, but they have similar mechainsms and pathways

Blind People

Have similar mechanisms like normal people using spatial imagery by visuializing by remembering shape

Spatial Imagery

Series of imagined movement, spatial arrangement, layout

LH

Vision was not affect but recognition impaired, couldn’t visualize elkl but did very good in spatial imagery

VIsual Imagers

LIkely to succeed in arts, more occipital activity and connectivbity beteen frontal and occipitasl

Spatial Imagers

Better in science/engineering, and have decreased activity not enough to bring it to consciousness

Images are constructed 

In a piece by piece fashion to generate an active picture that be moved around, but the pieces itself can”t

How Images are formed

Nodes of image frame, depicting global shape is activated, elboration can be added to the frame to make the full image

Verbal Labelling Effect

Attaching a verbal label can alter its perception and recall

Geography Judgement based on

Propositional knowledge, not mental maps

Using timeline mnemonic for neglect people

Will have a hard time remember past (left) than future (right)

Boundary Extension

Tendency to remember picture being less zoomed than actually was because schema places a bigger context to inform and guides expectation which is incorporated into memory

Images can have`

Primacy and recency effect

Pronunciation can have

Priming Effects

When images are continually remembered as weird

Novelty is lost but best when interaction between objects happen

Synesthesia

Stimulus for a sense triggers sensation of another sense

Chromesthesia

Sounds have colour

Grapheme Colour Synthesia

Letters/digits have colur and will have a pop out effect in visual search

Mental Practicing`

Can improve with sequences/positions but not force/pressure, not better than actual practice

Hub and Spoke Model

Concepts represented in the anterior temporal lobes as a hub, that connects and integrates information from other brain areas, and spoke represent specific elements of the concept with the type of information stored in their corresponding areas.

Aphasia

Loss of ability to make and understand oridinary language

Broca’s Area

Area in left frontal lobe

Non Fluent Aphasia

Damage to broca’s causing inability to write or speak

Wernicke’s Area

Area where temporal and parietal lobe meet

Fluent Aphasia

Can speak, but with lots of nonsense from wernicke damage

Voicing

Vocal cords reonate in relation to sound release

Voice Onset Time

Time it takes between release of air and vibration (less than 20 ms)

Unvoiced

Vocal folds start vibrating sometime after sound begins (greater then 20ms)

Manner of Production

Way speaker temporarily stops air flow to make speech

Types of Manner of Production

• Oral Stop

• Nasal Stop

• Fricative

• Affricative

Oral Stop

Air buildsup and is let out

Nasal Stop

Air comes out of the nose