Author Question: What is a typicality gradient? What are the effects of typicality gradients on how we process ... (Read 49 times)

123654777 · **on:** Jun 20, 2018

What is a typicality gradient? What are the effects of typicality gradients on how we process categories?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

The analogy of digital pictures was used in the text to describe mental images. Examine this analogy. In what ways are digital pictures like mental images and in what ways are they different?

What will be an ideal response?

Qarqy · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 20, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: If a category has a prototype, the prototype represents what is most likely true for the category (e.g., a robin). Individual members of the category will vary from the prototype (e.g., chicken). The degree to which the category members are similar or vary from the prototype creates a typicality gradient. Behavioral research has shown that we learn faster, categorize faster, and make stronger inferences if an item is closer to the prototype.

Answer to Question 2

Answer: A picture depicts one location within the environment. This is analogous to the spatiotemporal window of an image. The pixels of a digital image are analogous to the storage units of an image. The collection of these storage units produces the subject of the picture or the content of an image. Perhaps the biggest difference between a digital picture and a mental image is that a picture evenly represents the visual scene while an image is often uneven. This is likely due to visual attention selecting some aspects of a visual scene over others.