concepts & categorization

artificial concept

-defined by a specific set of characteristics >always exhibit certain characteristics >i.e. what defines different basic shapes -has to be taught -concepts that are "made up"

contributions to fuzzy categories:

*borderline items / classification can change over time *typicality

would various properties of geometric shapes like squares and triangles be an artificial concept or natural concept?

artificial concept need to learn geometric shapes and be taught this concept

borderline items / classification can change over time - fuzzy categories

can be a number of borderline items/members of categories that we cannot agree on and we can change categorization of these items over time example: is tomato a fruit, gourd, or a vegetable? -research suggests there are a number of borderline items/members of categories

concepts can be:

categories or groupings of linguistic information, images, ideas, or memories big ideas generated by observing details, and categorizing and combining these details into more complex ideas show relationships among different elements of experiences keep information in your mind organized and accessible

what is knowledge represented by?

concepts

what are concepts formed by?

formed by semantic memory and are found everywhere

why are categories useful?

help understand cases not previously encountered when we encounter a new object, if we know it belongs to a category/we can put it in a particular category >>immediately gives us information about the object ("pointers to knowledge")

what is meant by "pointers to knowledge" what do categories provide/allow us to do

if something belongs to a particular category we know a lot about it >categories provide a wealth of general information about an item >allow us to identify the general characteristics of a particular item

categorization

is the process of placing concepts into groups called categories

concept

mental representation of a particular thing used for many cognitive functions

typicality - fuzzy category

more common and typical objects in a category, the farther away an object is from the prototype in characteristics, the easier the example becomes a borderline memory (fuzzy category) bird example: >most typical bird we think of is not roadrunner, turkey, or an osprey, more likely a robin or sparrow >more common and typical in the bird category, considered the "prototypical bird"

concepts can be learned a couple different ways:

natural concept artificial concept

main difference between natural concept and artificial concept

natural concept: don't need to be taught what the concept is artificial concept: need to be taught

are categories always clear?

no categories can be fuzzy and unclear

natural concept

occur "naturally" or organically through experiences and observations -either direct or indirect (e.g. snow or rain) -don't need to be taught what the concept is

encountered a cat what are some things "pointers to knowledge" already indicate about this new object?

prior knowledge we already have about cats -has whiskers -catches mice -difficult to train -a feline: related to lions and tigers -likes milk, fish -sleeps a lot, more active at night

types of concepts

simple, complex, and abstract