LearningCurve 9b: Concepts, Categories, and Decision Making

Which name would be the MOST accessible in memory?

Albert Einstein

Exemplar theory is more comprehensive than is _____ theory because it takes into account specific instances of categories in addition to the prototype of the category.

prototype

For many people, a canary is a better _____ of a bird than is an ostrich.

prototype

For many people, a collie may be a better _____ of a dog than is an Irish wolfhound.

prototype

For many people, an ant is a better _____ of an insect than is a praying mantis.

prototype

Rather than using rules of defining necessary and sufficient conditions, the _____ theory categorizes objects together based on how well something resembles a typical category member and its features.

prototype

When someone mentions hamburgers, Trisha immediately thinks of a Big Mac. In this instance, a Big Mac is a(n):

prototype.

Christmas is to holiday as _____ is to _____.

prototype; concept

Sallie can recognize and identify a picture of a cat, a flower, a spider, and her mother, but she cannot respond to a picture of a hammer, a house, a flagpole, and an office. Sallie may have:

a category-specific deficit.

Which type of game is MOST likely the prototype of the concept "sport"?

baseball

A _____ is a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared features of related objects, events, or other stimuli.

concept

When Janet sees a coffee mug, a tall juice glass, and a short whiskey glass, she probably categorizes all these objects together as the _____ of "cup."

concept

If Sascha has trouble acquiring _____, she might not understand that a lion, tiger, calico, and Siamese are all types of cat.

concepts

The _____ theory of categorization argues that people make category judgments by comparing a new instance with their memories for other instances of the category.

exemplar

The prototype theory would predict that a child living in the United States generally would recognize a blue jay as a type of bird _____ this same child would recognize a penguin as a type of bird.

faster than

A concept is a mental representation that groups or categorizes shared _____ of related objects, events, or other stimuli.

features

Victor is trying to convince his parents to buy him a car. He tells them that teenagers are 30% less likely to get into an accident in their own car than in a parent's car, rather than stating that teenagers are 70% more likely to get into an accident in their own car. This example illustrates the:

framing effect.

If Sahalia is consulting a doctor as to whether the mole she discovered on her arm is cancerous, it would be BEST to discuss the chances in terms of _____, rather than of _____.

frequencies; probabilities

_____ theory is more comprehensive than is prototype theory because it takes into account specific instances of categories in addition to the prototype of the category.

Exemplar

_____ assumes that people simplify available information, give great weight to outcomes that are sure things, and compare choices with a reference point.

Prospect theory

People with ______ are LEAST likely to defend their decision-making strategies by citing such adages as "Nothing ventured, nothing gained" or "High risk, high reward."

generalized anxiety disorder

According to family resemblance theory, categories are made based on:

if objects look like they belong together.

People are more likely to buy bananas when they are marked 2 pounds for a dollar than when they are marked 50 cents a pound. What concept does this example illustrate?

the framing effect

An artist can no longer tell the difference between a brush and an easel. The artist probably suffered damage to:

the region where the temporal lobe meets the parietal and occipital lobes.

Meaghan is staying in a very unhappy relationship because she has already lived with her partner for three years. What problematic decision-making process is she using?

the sunk-cost fallacy