psy 211: exam 4

concept

• a mental idea you use to understand the world

  • dog, chair, love, justice

  • you don’t need to see one specific dog—you just know what a dog is

category

• all the things that belong to a concept

  • ex. golden retriever, husky, poodle, bulldog

categorization

• the process of placing something into a category

  • ex. you see a new fluffy animal → thats a dog

  • you taste something sweet and juice → thats fruit

why categories are useful

help you:

• understand new things

• make predictions

• save mental effort

• = shortcuts for thinking

why are categories called “pointers to knowledge”

• because they can give you a lot of information instantly

definitional approach (classical view )

• idea that something belongs in a category ONLY if it meets ALL rules