Abstract
In studies of category formation, subjects rarely construct family resemblance categories. Instead, they divide objects into categories using a single dimension. This is a puzzling result given the widely accepted view that natural categories are organized in terms of a family resemblance principle. The observation that natural categories support inductive inferences is used here to test the hypothesis that family resemblance categories would be constructed if stimuli were first used to generate inductive inferences. In two experiments, subjects answered either induction questions, which made interproperty relationships more salient, or frequency questions, which required information only about individual properties, before they performed a sorting task. Subjects were likely to produce family resemblance sorts if they had first answered induction questions but not if they had answered frequency questions.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 95-99 |
| Number of pages | 5 |
| Journal | Psychonomic Bulletin and Review |
| Volume | 3 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Jan 1 1996 |
| Externally published | Yes |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Arts and Humanities (miscellaneous)
Cite this
Induction and category coherence. / Utter, Mary; Murphy, Gregory L.
In: Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, Vol. 3, No. 1, 01.01.1996, p. 95-99.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Induction and category coherence
AU - Utter, Mary
AU - Murphy, Gregory L.
PY - 1996/1/1
Y1 - 1996/1/1
N2 - In studies of category formation, subjects rarely construct family resemblance categories. Instead, they divide objects into categories using a single dimension. This is a puzzling result given the widely accepted view that natural categories are organized in terms of a family resemblance principle. The observation that natural categories support inductive inferences is used here to test the hypothesis that family resemblance categories would be constructed if stimuli were first used to generate inductive inferences. In two experiments, subjects answered either induction questions, which made interproperty relationships more salient, or frequency questions, which required information only about individual properties, before they performed a sorting task. Subjects were likely to produce family resemblance sorts if they had first answered induction questions but not if they had answered frequency questions.
AB - In studies of category formation, subjects rarely construct family resemblance categories. Instead, they divide objects into categories using a single dimension. This is a puzzling result given the widely accepted view that natural categories are organized in terms of a family resemblance principle. The observation that natural categories support inductive inferences is used here to test the hypothesis that family resemblance categories would be constructed if stimuli were first used to generate inductive inferences. In two experiments, subjects answered either induction questions, which made interproperty relationships more salient, or frequency questions, which required information only about individual properties, before they performed a sorting task. Subjects were likely to produce family resemblance sorts if they had first answered induction questions but not if they had answered frequency questions.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0002764902&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=0002764902&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3758/BF03210747
DO - 10.3758/BF03210747
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:0002764902
VL - 3
SP - 95
EP - 99
JO - Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
JF - Psychonomic Bulletin and Review
SN - 1069-9384
IS - 1
ER -