Psychology ETDs

Gale Sutton

Publication Date

5-13-1976

Abstract

The concept formation paradigm was utilized to assess the extent of prototype formation. The concept was constructed to mirror natural categories, e.g., birds, dogs, etc. The concept was therefore based on discrete, criterial, but probabilistic, attributes manipulated in such a manner that examples possessed from two to six relevant attributes. Experiment 1 assessed saliency differences in the dimensions utilized in Experiment 2. Experiment consisted of an acquisition phase, a rating phase, and a reaction time task. Results demonstrated that subjects learned the concept, rated stimuli according to how many relevant attributes they possessed, and produced reaction times in accord with the number of relevant attributes a given example possessed. Thus, it was demonstrated that a criterial attribute paradigm can generate results similar to those produced by categorization models not based on defining attributes. It was concluded that criterial attribute interpretations of categorization cannot be precluded.

Degree Name

Psychology

Level of Degree

Masters

Department Name

Psychology

First Committee Member (Chair)

Peder Jack Johnson

Second Committee Member

Carol Elizabeth Conrad

Third Committee Member

John Paul Gluck Jr.

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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