PSYC 336 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: German Shepherd, Afghan Hound, Prototype Theory

• School: University of San Diego
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 336
• Professor: Appleton-Knapp

Document Summary

Definitions set boundaries for a category. Doesn"t have the defining attributes outside the category. Prototype theory the claim that mental categories are represented by a prototype, identifying the center of the category. All judgments are made with reference to the ideal or prototype. Prototype = average of the various category members you"ve encountered. Whenever you use your conceptual knowledge reasoning is done with reference to the prototype. Membership in a category depends on resemblance to the prototype. Not really a yes or no decision more/less . Graded membership the idea that some members of the category are. Better and more firmly in the category than others. Sentence verification task participants were presented with a series of sentences and asked to indicate whether it was true or false. A penguin is a bird and an afghan hound is a dog . A robin is a bird and a german shepherd is a dog .