Knowledge: Chapter 9

What is spreading activation?

Activity that spreads out along any link that is connected to an activated node

What does it mean that there is a psychologically privileged level of categorization?

Categories can be organized into levels or hierarchies. i. Global Level ii. Basic Level iii. Specific Level There is a level of categories that is more special to us the others- basic level

In Rogers & McClelland (2003, 2004) connectionist model, how does the activity of the hidden units change over the course of learning trials?

Different hidden units are activated over the course of the learning trials

What is the exemplar approach to categorization?

Exemplar approach to categorization; like the prototype approach, involves determining whether an object is similar to a standard object

How does expertise affect categorization?

Experts are more likely to respond with a specific category for birds than basic. This shows that learning and experience can influence how we categorize objects

What is the prototype approach to categorization?

Membership in a category is determined by comparing the object to a prototype that represents the category

What is a prototype?

Prototype: a typical member of a category

What is the difference between prototypes and exemplars? What are the advantages of exemplar categorization over prototype categorization?

Prototypes are believed to be used when we initially learn about a category, along with this prototypes are more used for larger categories of things. Exemplars are believed to be used when we are familiar with a category and used for small categories

How do people use prototypes to categorize objects

Prototypes are not actual members of a category - they are an average based on the members of a category

What level does Rosch think that is and why?

Rosch believes that the basic level is the most psychologically important i. In said experiment Particpants were faster at indicating whether the picture was a member of a category when the categories were basic level (car) than global level (vehicle)

What is cognitive economy in the Collins and Quillian model?

Shared properties are stored at the highest possible level

What does it mean that the boundaries of categories are fuzzy?

The problem with definitions is that not all members of a category have the same features

What are the differences between a connectionist model and the Collins and Quillian model?

a. Connectionist networks operate more like the brain operates than C&Q model. b. Connectionist networks learn - their knowledge is not preset

What was the Prototypes CogLab trying to test? What were the dependent and independent variables, and what are the predictions? Why did we categorize the prototypes faster than the new variants?

a. Experiment investigates whethere we use prototypes to categorize concepts i. Independent Variable: Which pattern you in the test phase - the prototype or the new variant. ii. Dependent Variable: RT at classifying the new variants vs prototypes We categorize using prototypes or exemplars and not definitions

What is prototypicality, and how has it been shown to affect behavior?

a. High Prototypicality: means that the category member closely resembles the prototype b. Low Prototypicality;means that the category member does not closely resemble the prototype i. High prototypical items share more features in common with other members of the category than low prototypical items ii. Prototype approach to categorization has advantages over the definitional approach, because not all items within a category are alike iii. Priming is affected by prototypicality

What improvements does the Collins and Loftus model make to the Collins and Quillian model? What are the problems with the Collins and Loftus model?

a. Improvements are longer and shorter links depending on prototypicality. No hierarchical structure. b. Problems with C & L model is that it can explain any result of categorization experiments

What is the Collins and Quillian's semantic network model? How does it work? What are its features and predictions? What are the problems with this model?

a. It is a chart made of nodes, links, properties, in Hierarchical structure, with a cognitive economy. b. It works by listing general things and going smaller and smaller details as you move up c. The Predictions are, activation will spread throughout concepts that are linked d. The problems with this model are Hierarchy, and Can't explain prototypicality effects

How does a connectionist model work? How are they similar to the brain?

a. Uses artificial neural networks in hopes to explain human cognition. Similar to the brain by the use neural networks.

What is the definitional approach to categorization?

a. We may decide whether something is a member of a category by determining whether a particular object meets the definition of the category.