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Rule and similarity as prototype concepts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 July 2005

Edward E. Smith*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1109

Abstract

There is a continuum between prototypical cases of rule use and prototypical cases of similarity use. A prototypical rule: (1) is explicitly represented, (2) can be verbalized, and (3) requires that the user selectively attend to a few features of the object, while ignoring the others. Prototypical similarity-use requires that: (1) the user should match the object to a mental representation holistically, and (2) there should be no selective attention or inhibition. Neural evidence supports prototypical rule-use. Most models of categorization fall between the two prototypes.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2005

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