Deck 9: Concepts and Generic Knowledge

Question 1

Matt is 5 years old and loves learning about animals.If asked,"Could you turn a skunk into a raccoon?" Matt would most likely say that

A)no matter how you changed a skunk's behavior or appearance,it would still be a skunk and not a raccoon.
B)it is behavior that matters for category identity,so if a skunk learned to act like a raccoon,it would count as a genuine raccoon.
C)it is appearance that matters for category identity,so if a skunk were altered to look like a raccoon,it would count as a genuine raccoon.
D)it is the combination of behavior and appearance that matters for category identity,so both attributes would have to be changed to turn one organism into another.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The term "basic-level category" refers to the

A)level of categorization regarded by most participants as indisputable.
B)most general level of categorization of which participants can think.
C)most specific level of categorization of which participants can think.
D)most natural level of categorization,which is neither too specific nor too general.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

An important difference between categorization via exemplars and categorization via prototypes is that according to exemplar theory

A)the standard used in a particular category can vary from one occasion to the next.
B)one categorizes objects by comparing them to a mentally represented standard.
C)categorization depends on a judgment of resemblance.
D)categories are represented in the mind by a single relatively concrete illustration of the category.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

The claim that mental categories have graded membership is most compatible with which of the following claims?

A)"It's really hard to be sure if Milo is a dog or not."
B)"Some dogs are 'doggier' than others."
C)"I used to think tomatoes were a vegetable,but I've now learned the truth."
D)"Many people think the Bible is the greatest book ever written."

Question 5

In Trial 18 of a sentence verification task,participants see the sentence "A robin is a bird." In Trial 42 they see "A penguin is a bird." According to prototype theory,we should expect faster responses to

A)"robin" because participants more readily see the resemblance between "robin" and the bird prototype.
B)"penguin" because penguins are a unique bird and thus easily identified.
C)"robin" because it is a shorter word.
D)"penguin" because of response priming.

Question 6

When we say,"There is a family resemblance among all the members of the Martinez family," we mean that

A)there is at least one feature shared by all the members of the family.
B)there is at least one identifying trait such that if you have that trait,you are certain to be a member of the family.
C)any pair of family members will have traits in common,even though there may be no single trait shared by all of the family members.
D)there are several features that all members of the family have in common.

Question 7

According to prototype theory,"being typical" for a category and "being a member of the category" should go together;if one is true,the other is true.In light of other things you know,which of the following is NOT a problem for this broad claim?

A)Whales are more typical of fish than sea lampreys are,but whales aren't fish.
B)A squashed lemon painted purple isn't at all a typical fruit,but it is a fruit.
C)A poodle is a more typical dog than a golden retriever,but both are dogs.
D)Abraham Lincoln was a typical American president,but he was a president.

Question 8

Participants know that penguins are not typical birds,but they are certain that penguins are birds.This indicates that judgments about category membership

A)depend on a judgment of typicality.
B)are not settled entirely by an assessment of typicality.
C)rely on comparing the example to a prototype.
D)do not conform to the requirements of a definition.

Question 9

Which of the following examples are used to illustrate the idea that in some categories,members retain their category membership even if their appearance changes dramatically?

A)robins and penguins
B)mutilated lemons and counterfeit money
C)Miss Piggy and Kermit the Frog
D)John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Question 10

Basic-level categories have which of the following traits?

A)If asked to describe an object,participants are not likely to use the basic-level term.
B)Basic-level categories are usually represented in the language by a single word.
C)Basic-level descriptions are more difficult to remember than more general descriptions.
D)Basic-level terms are acquired by children at an older age than either more specific or more general terms.

Question 11

Categorization models based on family resemblance rely on

A)the definition of each category.
B)overlap in the features of the various members of a category.
C)the necessary conditions for membership in a category.
D)the sufficient conditions for membership in a category.

Question 12

According to prototype theory,the prototype selected for comparison is UNLIKELY to be the

A)ideal for a category.
B)average of various category members.
C)same for every person.
D)central tendency (middle)of all category members.

Question 13

It has been suggested that mental categories have a family-resemblance structure,and usually don't have definitions.What is the basis for this claim?

A)Categorization is usually a matter of degree,not an all-or-none process.
B)Categories constantly add new members.
C)Similarity is often subjective.
D)A rigid definition is unlikely to be accepted by everyone.

Question 14

Participants are asked which birds they think are "particularly birdy" and which birds are "not very birdy." We should expect that the birds judged as "birdiest" are birds

A)rarely mentioned in a production task.
B)appearing infrequently in the participants' environment.
C)identified quickly in a picture-identification task.
D)not likely to be identified as typical.

Question 15

It seems unlikely that mental definitions are used to represent our conceptual knowledge because

A)each person has his or her own idea about how concepts should be defined.
B)many of our abstract concepts (e.g. ,justice,love,God)are difficult to define.
C)it is easy to find exceptions to any proposed definition.
D)most of our concepts are difficult to express in words.

Question 16

According to exemplar-based theories of mental categories,participants identify an object by comparing it to a

A)prototype.
B)single remembered instance of the category.
C)definition.
D)mental image.

Question 17

According to prototype theory,the mental representation for each concept

A)is likely to represent an average or ideal for the category's members.
B)specifies the necessary and sufficient conditions for category membership.
C)is located on the boundary of the category.
D)lists the perceptual features that are found only in that category.

Question 18

Exemplar and prototype theories are similar in the following ways EXCEPT that

A)both theories require the triggering of a representation in memory.
B)both theories require previous memories to be averaged,or combined,to create the standard for a category.
C)both theories require a judgment of resemblance.
D)both theories allow judgments of inanimate objects.

Question 19

In one procedure,participants were asked to judge which was a "better" even number,4 or 18.The participants

A)regarded this task as absurd,and so they disagreed with each other about the "correct" answer.
B)offered judgments that show that well-defined categories do not show the graded-membership pattern.
C)regarded all of the even numbers as being "equivalently even."
D)made the judgment in a fashion that implied a graded-membership pattern for the category "even number."

Question 20

If asked to name as many birds as they can,participants are most likely to name

A)larger birds (e.g. ,hawk,owl).
B)distinctive birds (e.g. ,vulture,penguin).
C)birds associated with other familiar concepts (e.g. ,turkey,bald eagle).
D)birds resembling the prototype (e.g. ,robin,sparrow).

Question 21

Categorization is plainly influenced by resemblance,but it is also influenced by factors other than resemblance.Which of the following is evidence for the importance of these other factors?

A)Many categories have a hierarchical structure.
B)Resemblance plays a key role in the use of prototypes but plays no role in the well-documented use of exemplars.
C)Resemblance is typically determined by relatively superficial perceptual features,but sometimes categorization depends on deeper essential properties of the category.
D)Learning about new categories often happens automatically,even when the learner does not notice that it is happening.

Question 22

Collins and Quillian (1969)suggest that information about mental categories is organized

A)in vertical patterns.
B)through basic-level information.
C)in a hierarchy.
D)through a distributed representation.

Question 23

Which of the following is NOT a proposition?

A)Julie is female.
B)Julie's hair.
C)Julie bikes.
D)Julie barks.

Question 24

Previous knowledge facilitates categorization in which of the following ways?

A)It allows new categories to be learned more rapidly.
B)It becomes unnecessary to compare previous examples to the current situation.
C)It makes the formation of abstract categories possible.
D)It ensures that categorization will be accurate.

Question 25

Within a parallel distributed processing (PDP)model,the term "spreading activation" refers to the fact that

A)activation of one concept will lead to many other nodes that,as a group,represent other concepts.
B)thinking refers to a constant state of knowledge,made possible through the appropriate setting of connection weights.
C)thinking is a static system,allowing stability in someone's cognition.
D)nodes become weakened over time.

Question 26

A lemon that has been painted red,white,and blue and then run over by a car is still likely to be categorized as a lemon.Which of the following is NOT relevant to why this might be?

A)If it grew on a lemon tree,it will be considered a lemon.
B)The essential properties for being a lemon are still there.
C)Cause-and-effect relationships influence how we think about what an object is and how it is categorized.
D)Superficial things like color do not play a role in categorization.

Question 27

A mutilated lemon will still be categorized as a lemon,while a counterfeit $20 bill will not be categorized as money.What does this say about categorization?

A)Psychologists will never understand categorization.
B)Category membership cannot be based on resemblance alone.
C)Category membership is based on previously encountered examples.
D)Prototype theory is the most accurate theory of categorization.

Question 28

In making judgments about category membership,participants

A)base their judgments entirely on typicality of the stimulus.
B)will not judge a stimulus to be in the category unless the stimulus resembles the category prototype.
C)often make a distinction between typicality and actual category membership.
D)usually base their judgments on factors other than typicality.

Question 29

The text points out that plums and lawn mowers share many traits.This suggests that

A)there is a strong resemblance between plums and lawn mowers.
B)resemblance is not influenced by shared traits.
C)in judging resemblance,we must determine which traits matter and which do not.
D)distinctive traits,and not shared traits,determine resemblance judgments.

Question 30

The term "connection weights" refers to the

A)number of nodes.
B)direction of the connections between nodes.
C)strength of connections between nodes.
D)number of connections between nodes.

Question 31

One way to differentiate between concepts like "Sam has a dog" and "Sam is a dog" is to store information

A)in propositional networks.
B)in prepositional networks.
C)through an associate link between "Sam" and "dog."
D)in a linear fashion.

Question 32

When compared to the statement "A canary is an animal," the reaction time for "A bird is an animal" will be

A)faster.
B)slower.
C)equal.
D)unknown;there is not enough information to make a decision.

Question 33

The fMRI evidence suggests that the brain areas that are activated when someone is thinking about inanimate objects will

A)be identical to the active areas for animate objects.
B)be different from the active areas for animate objects.
C)be localized to one hemisphere,while animate objects will be in the same region in the other hemisphere.
D)need to directly activate brain areas for animate objects before a categorization decision can be made.

Question 34

A proposition is generally defined as

A)a node in a knowledge network.
B)the smallest unit of knowledge that can be true or false.
C)the smallest unit of knowledge that is stored.
D)the organizational structure of semantic knowledge in memory.

Question 35

Maxine has sustained brain damage to her left temporal lobe,which influences her ability to categorize efficiently.Which of the following is most likely to describe the problems that Maxine will face?

A)She will not be able to categorize objects ever again.
B)She will lose the ability to identify members of some categories,but other categories will remain unaffected.
C)She will be able to name objects but not be able to describe what the function of the object is.
D)She will be able to recognize dogs but not be able to identify individual dogs ("oh,that's Dan's dog,Milo").

Question 36

Explanatory theories about our conceptual knowledge differ from prototype theory in that the explanatory theories emphasize

A)the importance of specific traits for category members.
B)the importance of frequency of view in shaping category judgments.
C)a holistic approach to categorization that asks how different concepts are related to each other.
D)the fact that,as we learn more about a category,we can explain why the category is useful.

Question 37

Collins and Quillian proposed that conceptual knowledge is represented in the mind through a hierarchy of concepts.In their model,the property "eats food" would be stored

A)at a high level,linked to the node within the network that represents all things that eat.
B)in a propositional format.
C)many times,linked to the node for each of the creatures that eats.
D)through a distributed representation.

Question 38

Informal,explanatory "theories" seem to play an important role in our conceptual knowledge.Which of the following statements about the theories involved in conceptual knowledge is FALSE?

A)They provide a knowledge base that we can rely on when thinking about an object,event,or category.
B)They play a part in determining how easily we learn new concepts.
C)They are usually as precise as most scientific theories.
D)They often allow us to understand any new facts that we encounter about an object or category.

Question 39

Which of the following benefits does a hierarchical network provide?

A)Information can be searched for equally quickly across all levels of the network.
B)It allows the option for information to be stored at higher levels,reducing redundancy in information storage.
C)Information can be stored repeatedly,ensuring accuracy.
D)Information is organized according to frequency of use,so that more common representations can be accessed more quickly.

Question 40

One study found that if participants were told a new fact about robins,they would also believe that the new fact was true of ducks.However,if told a new fact about ducks,participants would not extrapolate this information to robins.This suggests that

A)participants treat each category member independently (on a case-by-case basis)when applying new beliefs.
B)participants are willing to apply inferences from a typical case within a category to the whole category but will not apply inferences from an atypical case to the whole category.
C)new knowledge about a member of a category is unstable,leading to a change in a person's belief system only on rare occasions.
D)beliefs within a theory are less likely to affect typical category members than atypical ones.

Question 41

Are basic-level categories the same as prototypes? Why or why not?

Question 42

Compare and contrast the prototype and exemplar theories of categorization.How do they differ? How are they similar? Does the evidence favor one over the other?

Question 43

Conceptual knowledge is impressive and likely contains

A)prototypes.
B)exemplars.
C)beliefs.
D)All of the answer options are correct.

Question 44

The textbook notes that our beliefs influence our categories,and our categories influence our beliefs.Explain what is meant by this by providing an example that supports each assertion.

Question 45

Typicality is often used to determine category membership,but not always.Provide an example of an object that is typical of a category but does not belong to the category.Using the ideas described in the book,explain why it would not be included in the category despite its similarity to other category members.

Question 46

Describe the basic organization of a propositional network,and provide specific examples of the organization by considering the concept "chicken." Make sure you include the appropriate propositions in your description.

Question 47

Assuming a parallel distributed processing (PDP)framework,describe the process by which the concept "Mike Tyson is a boxer" would be updated to "Mike Tyson is an actor."

Question 48

Propositional networks assume that knowledge is ________;however,other theorists propose that knowledge is actually ________.

A)stored by a local representation;distributed
B)likely contained within a single node;represented through connections among nodes
C)distributed;localized
D)distributed;constantly changing

Question 49

What do evidence from fMRI studies and research on patients with brain damage tell us about the nature of categorization in the mind and brain?

Question 50

Describe the procedure and results of Collins and Quillian's (1969)seminal study.What does this study tell us,and what modern updates (if any)should we add to this classic study?

Question 51

Describe the procedures of the sentence verification task and the production task.Would you expect to see any relationships between the results of these two tasks? Why or why not?

Question 52

According to a parallel distributed processing (PDP)model,how is the fact "Neil Armstrong was an astronaut" represented in the mind?

A)Neurons that represent Neil Armstrong and astronaut are connected via a synaptic junction.
B)Nodes representing Neil Armstrong and astronaut are in close proximity to one another.
C)Patterns of connections among many nodes separately represent Neil Armstrong and astronaut,and through learning these patterns have become linked to each other.
D)A single node representing Neil Armstrong is connected via a proposition to the word "astronaut."

Question 53

Suppose that you learn that cones are responsible for color vision.In any of the network models of knowledge,your learning occurs when the two concepts (cones and color vision)become

A)connected more strongly.
B)stronger.
C)weaker.
D)close in proximity.

Question 54

Imagine that you mistakenly believe that Marie Antoinette was the queen of Austria.You learn later that she was the queen of France.How will this adjustment in knowledge be represented in a parallel distributed processing (PDP)model?

A)The connection between Marie Antoinette and Austria will be erased,and a new connection with France will replace it.
B)The connection between Austria and France will be broken.
C)The connection between Marie Antoinette and France will become stronger.
D)The connection between Austria and France will become stronger.