Prototype theory is a theory of categorization in cognitive science, particularly in psychology and cognitive linguistics, in which there is a graded degree of belonging to a conceptual category, and some members are more central than others.
What is exemplar theory of categorization?
Exemplar theory assumes that people categorize a novel object by comparing its similarity to the memory representations of all previous exemplars from each relevant category . Exemplar theory has been the most prominent cognitive theory of categorization for more than 30 years.
How does exemplar theory differ from prototype theory?
Prototype theory suggests that a new stimulus is compared to a single prototype in a category, while exemplar theory suggests that a new stimulus is compared to multiple known exemplars in a category . ... While prototypes are economical—meaning they are more conducive to quick judgments—exemplars are less so.
Which approach to categorization involves determining whether an object is similar to a standard object or not?
like the prototype approach , involves determining whether an object is similar to a standard object. But the standard involves many examples (or exemplars) that are actual members of the category.
How does the prototype theory explain categorization?
In cognitive science, prototype theory refers to graded categorization where some members of a category are more central, or more perfect, than others . This means that although some things may belong to a certain category of elements, they still may be perceived as unequal.
Who is an exemplar?
: an admired person or thing that is considered an example that deserves to be copied . : a typical example. See the full definition for exemplar in the English Language Learners Dictionary.
What are basic level categories?
Basic level categories, or generic level categories, are those categories in a folk taxonomy which are most culturally salient , and meet our basic cognitive needs the best. Basic level categories display a high degree of class inclusion and medium degree of generality, as they include subordinate level categories.
Who proposed the exemplar theory?
In the 1980s, Robert Nosofsky proposed exemplar theory as a potential explanation. Exemplar theory is a cognitive and psychological explanation for how categorisation occurs.
Is there an exemplar theory of concepts?
The article concludes that exemplars are certainly important in some categorization judgments and in category-learning experiments, but that there is no exemplar theory of human concepts in a broad sense .
What is the theory based view of meaning?
REPRESENTATION and ORGANIZATION of KNOWLEDGE in MEMORY: Concepts, Categories, Networks and Schemas ORGANIZATION OF DECLARATIVE KNOWLEDGE Concepts and Categories A THEORY BASED VIEW OF MEANING hold that people understand and categorize concepts in terms of implicit theories , or general ideas they have regarding those ...
Which approach to categorization can more easily?
Which approach to categorization can more easily take into account atypical cases such as flightless birds? An advantage of the exemplar approach over the prototype approach is that the exemplar approach provides a better explanation of the effect.
What is superordinate category?
a high-level category that subsumes a number of basic-level categories . For example, animal is a superordinate category including the basic-level categories cat, fish, elephant, and so on.
What is an advantage of using prototypes to identify objects?
• Prototypes may work best for larger categories . Typicality Effect . individuals respond more quickly to typical examples of a category than they would to examples that are considered atypical. High Typicality. High typicality means that a category member closely resembles the category prototype.
Is a prototype a good example of a concept?
A prototype is the BEST example or cognitive representation of something within a certain category . Prototypes are used to enhance memory and recall, since you can keep a prototype of something and then match new, similar things to the prototype in order to identify, categorize, or store this new thing.
What is prototype example?
1 : an original model on which something is patterned : archetype. 2 : an individual that exhibits the essential features of a later type. 3 : a standard or typical example. 4 : a first full-scale and usually functional form of a new type or design of a construction (such as an airplane)
Why is Prototype Theory important?
Lexical Semantics
One important theory, prototype theory, holds that natural categories are organized around ideal examples (prototypes) , and that other items belong to the category to the extent that they resemble the prototype.
