Deck 9: Concepts and Generic Knowledge

Question 1

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 certain traits in common even though there may be no traits shared by all of the family members.
D) there are several features that all members of the family have in common.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

You are asked to "Name all of the professions that you can think of." According to Rosch's evidence, you are most likely to respond,

A) first grade teacher, second grade teacher, third grade teacher . . .
B) first grade teacher, neonatal nurse, psychology professor . . .
C) employee, employer, part-time employee . . .
D) teacher, lawyer, doctor, firefighter . . .

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Basic-level categories have all of the following traits EXCEPT

A) if asked simply to describe an object, participants are 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 a younger age than either more specific or more general terms.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

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 5

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

A) both theories require the triggering of a memory.
B) both theories require previous memories to be averaged, or combined.
C) both theories require a judgment of resemblance.
D) conclusions for both processes are based on resemblance.

Question 6

Categorization models based on family resemblance rely on

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

Question 7

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.

Question 8

Participants are asked to make up sentences about the category "birds." Which of the following is LEAST likely to be true about this task?

A) Among other tasks, this task provides evidence for the use of prototypes in categories.
B) Participants often have a wide range of birds in mind when generating these sentences.
C) Future participants will judge modified sentences where the name of a nonprototypical bird is substituted for the word "bird" as ridiculous.
D) The sensibility of a sentence is usually unchanged if the name of a prototypical bird is substituted for the word "bird."

Question 9

It seems unlikely that our conceptual knowledge is represented by mental definitions 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 10

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 of response priming.
D) "penguin" because penguins are higher in typicality.

Question 11

It has been suggested that a rigid definition for a category is not possible and that resemblance (much like a family resemblance) may be more appropriate. Why is this the case?

A) Categorization is very often 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 12

According to prototype theory, the mental representation for each concept

A) represents 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 13

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 14

The claim that mental categories have graded membership is the claim that

A) one cannot specify precisely whether a test case is in the category.
B) some category members are better suited than others as category members.
C) a participant's belief about a category's membership shifts as the participant learns more about the category.
D) many category members approach the ideal for that category.

Question 15

According to exemplar theory, typicality effects

A) are difficult to explain.
B) reflect the fact that typical category members are probably frequent in our environment and are therefore frequently represented in memory.
C) are produced by the fact that the exemplars in memory for each category tend to resemble each other.
D) should be observed with categories having homogeneous membership but not with more variable categories.

Question 16

Reuben is visiting the aquarium and has just seen an octopus for the very first time. Reuben is therefore likely to have

A) a definition for the concept of octopus.
B) only exemplar-based knowledge for the concept of octopus.
C) a prototype for the octopus concept.
D) a prototype for the octopus concept and some exemplar-based knowledge.

Question 17

According to prototype theory, the prototype selected for comparison will NOT 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 18

There is a pattern of converging evidence with respect to prototype theory. This means that

A) different individuals agree in their identification of typical category members.
B) the same category members turn out to be privileged in a wide range of experimental tasks.
C) more recent studies have allowed a more precise specification of which category members are typical.
D) as children grow up, they gain a more specific notion of what it is that identifies each category.

Question 19

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.

Question 20

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 21

In a hierarchical network of "animals," the property "eats" would be stored

A) at the highest level.
B) at the lowest level.
C) at each level, for each animal.
D) nowhere.

Question 22

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 23

The use of theories plays an important role in our conceptual knowledge. Which of these is FALSE about the theories involved in conceptual knowledge?

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

Question 24

Matt is 8 years old and loves learning about animals. If asked, "Are skunks and raccoons similar?" 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.

Question 25

Judgments about which category members are typical

A) are easily shifted by changes in context or changes in perspective.
B) shift as one learns more about the category but then become quite stable.
C) differ sharply across cultures.
D) are impressively constant across individuals and situations.

Question 26

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 27

In making judgments about category membership, participants

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

Question 28

Explanatory theories differ from an exemplar theory in that the explanatory emphasizes

A) the importance of specific events.
B) the most frequently occurring event.
C) a holistic approach to categorization.
D) the importance of a first impression.

Question 29

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

A) were unable to perform this absurd task.
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 30

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 31

Categorization is plainly influenced by judgments about resemblance, but it is also influenced by factors other than resemblance. Which of the following is NOT part of the evidence indicating the importance of these other factors?

A) People sometimes judge an object to be in a category despite the fact that it has virtually no resemblance to other objects in that category.
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) In order to make judgments according to resemblance, we must be guided by other beliefs about which properties matter; otherwise, our judgments of resemblance may be guided by irrelevant attributes of the object.

Question 32

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 33

Categorization is of great importance to cognitive tasks. Which of the following is LEAST likely to benefit from the ability to categorize?

A) learning new information
B) expanding current knowledge
C) generalizing to new situations
D) improving IQ

Question 34

It is possible for a test case to be thought of as typical of a category, despite not being a member of that category. Which of the following examples is consistent with this idea?

A) Whales are more typical of fish than sea lampreys.
B) A squashed lemon that has been painted purple is more typical of fruit than an apple.
C) A poodle is more typical of a dog than a golden retriever.
D) Abraham Lincoln is a typical American president.

Question 35

Two clinicians are asked to diagnose a patient who shows symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and depression. The first clinician believes that depression is an important cause of OCD and so does not diagnose the patient with OCD. The second clinician believes that depression is a by-product of OCD but not a root cause. Therefore, she diagnoses the patient as having OCD. This example illustrates that

A) our beliefs and background knowledge influence how we categorize things.
B) clinicians are often mistaken in their diagnoses.
C) theories are often fallible and so should not be depended on in many situations.
D) theories are not involved when placing a test case into a particular category.

Question 36

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 an accurate description of 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 37

Previous knowledge facilitates categorization in each of the following ways EXCEPT that it

A) allows rapid learning of a new category.
B) allows previous examples to be compared to the current situation.
C) makes developing theories about a category easy.
D) ensures categorization will be accurate.

Question 38

Researchers have claimed that as one gains more and more experience with a category, the mental representation for that category is likely to shift from

A) a prototype to exemplar-based knowledge.
B) exemplar-based knowledge to a definition.
C) a definition to a prototype.
D) exemplar-based knowledge to a prototype.

Question 39

Which of the following is NOT implied by the textbook's discussion of mutilated lemons and perfect counterfeits?

A) An object can be in a category even if it has no resemblance to the category's prototype.
B) An object can be excluded from a category even if it has a strong resemblance to the category's prototype.
C) The history of an object is sometimes crucial in determining its category membership.
D) Participants are unable to separate their judgments about category membership from their judgments about typicality.

Question 40

Imagine you are shown an object and asked to categorize it as belonging to Category A or Category B. Which of the following describes the process for categorizing a new object?

A) perceive object; trigger memory; categorize item; judge resemblance
B) perceive object; compare object to memories; judge resemblance; categorize item
C) perceive object; judge resemblance; search memory; make decision
D) search memory; perceive object; judge resemblance; categorize item

Question 41

Conceptual knowledge is impressive and likely contains

A) prototypes.
B) exemplars.
C) beliefs.
D) all of the above.

Question 42

The neuropsychological evidence (fMRI, patients with trauma) suggests that

A) exemplars are stored in a different part of the brain than prototypes.
B) different patterns of activity are seen when thinking about dogs versus cats.
C) we can narrow down a specific "grandmother" cell in the brain that contains all one's knowledge of one's grandmother.
D) categories of objects seem to be stored in similar neural areas (e.g., living things versus nonliving things).

Question 43

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 is efficient because information is stored only once.
C) Information is stored repeatedly to ensure accuracy.
D) Information is organized according to use, so that more common representations can be accessed more quickly.

Question 44

The fMRI evidence suggests that the brain areas that are activated for 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) occasionally match the area for animate objects, depending on the nature of the inanimate object.

Question 45

Compare and contrast the prototype and exemplar theories of categorization. How do they differ? How are they similar? Which one most accurately describes how categorization works?

Question 46

Proposition networks assume knowledge is ________; however, it is more likely that knowledge is actually ________.

A) localized; distributed
B) localized; unable to be identified
C) distributed; localized
D) distributed; constantly changing

Question 47

Describe the procedures of the sentence verification task and the production task. Would you expect to see any similarities across the results of these two tasks?

Question 48

In your Sensation and Perception course you learn that cones are responsible for color vision. According to a PDP account, your learning occurs when the two concepts (cones and color vision) become

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

Question 49

Collins and Quillian (1969) suggest that information is organized

A) vertically.
B) horizontally.
C) hierarchically.
D) in a circle.

Question 50

According to a 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) A pattern of connections among many nodes represent Neil Armstrong and astronaut separately, and through learning, these patterns begin to co-occur.
D) A single node representing Neil Armstrong is connected via a proposition to the word "astronaut."

Question 51

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

Question 52

A proposition is 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 53

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 PDP model?

A) The connection between Marie Antoinette and Austria will immediately be broken, and a new connection with France will be created immediately.
B) The connection between Austria and France will be broken.
C) The connection between Marie Antoinette and France will become stronger, overriding the connection between Marie Antoinette and Austria.
D) The connection between Marie Antoinette and Austria will become weaker, while the connection between Marie Antoinette and France will become stronger.

Question 54

Given the tenets of a parallel distributed processing (PDP) model, the term "spreading activation" would refer to the fact that

A) activation of one concept will lead other, connected concepts to be activated.
B) thinking refers to a constant state of knowledge.
C) thinking is a static system.
D) nodes become weakened over time.

Question 55

In order to differentiate between concepts like "Sam has a dog" and "Sam is a dog," information is stored

A) with propositions.
B) with prepositions.
C) in different parts of the brain.
D) in a linear fashion.

Question 56

The term "connection weights" refers to the

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

Question 57

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

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

Question 58

Which of the following is NOT a proposition?

A) Julie is female.
B) Julie bubblegum.
C) Julie bikes.
D) Julie barks.

Question 59

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 discriminate some categories but others 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 name fruits but not be able to name vegetables.

Question 60

In a PDP model, learning can happen in all of the following ways EXCEPT

A) strengthening of connections between concepts that are activated simultaneously.
B) weakening of connections between concepts that are activated at different times.
C) random, synchronous firing of nodes leads to a weakening of a connection.
D) error signals are sent backward through the system, to adjust connection weights.

Question 61

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

Question 62

Describe how one's thinking about categories changes across one's lifetime by comparing categorization in children and adults. In what ways does categorization change as we age?

Question 63

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

Question 64

Reisberg notes that our beliefs influence our categories, and our categories influence our beliefs. Explain what he means by this by providing an example that supports each assertion.

Question 65

Describe the rationale, procedure, and results of Collins and Quillian's (1969) seminal study. Why was this study important?

Question 66

Generally, typicality can be used to determine category membership; however, there are exceptions to this rule. Provide an example of an object that is very typical of a category but does not belong to the category. Using the concepts described in the book, explain why it is perceived as belonging to the group and then explain why it would not be categorized as a group member.

Question 67

Describe the physiological evidence surrounding categories from studies using fMRI and patients with brain damage. What does this evidence tell us about the nature of categorization in the mind and brain?