by Beth Sung
Have you ever wondered how the brain perceives the world for us to understand? Intrigued by this same notion, psychologists have been trying to dig out the principles behind our concept formation. You may not be unfamiliar with the term categorization, however it is the most effective way to form a concept – by grouping objects into different categories. Why do our brains need to do this? One reason is that we want to gain maximum information while conserving finite resources as much as possible. This is the first principle behind the category system (within the memory system) – cognitive economy. When we categorize a stimulus, we need to decide whether it is not only equivalent to other stimuli in the same category but also different from stimuli not in that category. How do we do this? We examine all the properties (that is, attributes) which define each category to make sure if a stimulus belongs to it. For example, we all put a robin into the bird category while we put a sofa into the furniture category without a second thought. The reason why a robin belongs to the bird category is that it has properties such as feathers, wings, and it nests in trees. Once we recognize these definitive properties of the bird category and compare them with those of the robin, we can conclude that a robin belongs to the bird category. The same process is involved in comparing the properties of the furniture category with those of the sofa. Both have such properties as being placed in a house. As a result, it is to our advantage to achieve cognitive economy by knowing as many properties as possible in categorizing. Psychologists assert that the world has a structure and components are highly correlated with one another. That leads to the second principle of categorization – perceived world structure. To make it easier to understand the properties of feathers, fur, and wings, for example, a person knows is an empirical fact provided by the perceived world that wings co-occur with feathers more than with fur. Bearing this fact in mind helps one to decide if a new entity belongs to a bird category. In addition, psychologists also stress that what kinds of properties can be perceived are species-specific. For instance, a dog’s sense of smell is more highly differentiated than a human’s; therefore, the structure of the world for a dog must surely include properties of smell that we are incapable of perceiving. Besides, because a dog’s body is constructed differently from a human’s, its motor interactions with objects are differently structured. Then how exactly do we categorize? Psychologists suggest that we have a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension where each object falls into its place. First, a horizontal dimension means the internal structure of categories where typicality plays an important part. The more typical of a category a member is rated, the more attributes it has in common with other members of the same category. For example, a sparrow is a typical member of the bird category; however, a chicken is not a typical member of the bird category. Second, a vertical dimension means the inclusiveness of a category. The greater the inclusiveness of a category within a taxonomy (a system by which categories are related to one another by means of class inclusion) the higher the level of inclusiveness. For instance, the furniture category is more inclusive than the chair category, which is even more inclusive than the beanbag chair category. Because the chair category contains the most essential concept, which people often use to address objects in everyday life, it is referred to as the basic-level category. For example, “I sit in a chair reading” is much clearer than “I sit in a piece of furniture reading.” Now you should more or less get an idea of how the categorization process works. So why not pay more attention to it next time when you are trying to categorize things to see if it works the same way as mentioned here. #Volume 8 Issue 1 a
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May 2024
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