Semantic Memory Overview

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Questions and Answers

What is the primary function of an internal layer in a distributed representation model?

To generate unique responses to individual stimuli

To enhance the recognition of isolated experiences

To process input from correlated stimuli (correct)

To isolate stimuli that do not share features

According to the prototype theory, what role does the prototype serve in category learning?

It combines common features across experiences (correct)

It's a strict definition of category membership

It provides a complete list of features necessary for classification

It represents a unique example of the category

What does the typicality effect imply in relation to category membership?

Familiar objects are judged as atypical

All category members are seen as equally typical

Some items are classified more quickly than others (correct)

Category membership requires a strict set of criteria

What consequence of discrimination learning is emphasized in studies?

It produces more narrow generalization gradients Signup and view all the answers

What is the loss of ability to recognize abnormal features when they are upside-down referred to as?

Inversion effect Signup and view all the answers

What does the family resemblance property signify in category learning?

Members share overlapping features but are not identical Signup and view all the answers

In the Solso and McCarthy experiment, what was the participants' reaction to the unseen prototype face?

They recognized it with high confidence Signup and view all the answers

What does generalization allow us to do in the context of learning?

Apply past learning to new situations based on perceived similarities Signup and view all the answers

What is indicated when a new object is at an equidistant point to the prototypes of multiple categories?

It is ambiguous and difficult to classify Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of the configural representations in face recognition?

To incorporate how features are arranged in memory Signup and view all the answers

What distinguishes discrimination learning from generalization?

Discrimination learning emphasizes learning to respond differently to diverse stimuli Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following statements aligns with the classical view of category learning?

Categories are defined by a strict set of necessary features Signup and view all the answers

What is key to achieving effective generalization from existing knowledge?

Identifying shared elements across experiences Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary function of semantic memory?

Facilitating reasoning and making inferences about new experiences Signup and view all the answers

How is information organized within a semantic network?

In hierarchical structures where related concepts are closer together Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of a semantic (or category) fluency test?

To evaluate semantic relatedness by listing items from a category Signup and view all the answers

What is priming in the context of semantic memory?

A process that speeds up retrieval of related concepts through initial exposure Signup and view all the answers

How does the word superiority effect influence word recognition?

Individual letters are recognized more quickly in the context of real words Signup and view all the answers

What does the interactive activation theory of word recognition state?

Both word and letter representations influence each other during recognition Signup and view all the answers

What does generalization in learning refer to?

Using past experiences to predict outcomes of similar stimuli Signup and view all the answers

What does a generalization gradient illustrate?

The relationship between stimulus similarity and behavioral responses Signup and view all the answers

What role does distance between concepts in a semantic network play?

It reflects how similar or related two concepts are Signup and view all the answers

What is the key difference between semantic and episodic memory?

Episodic memory relies on context while semantic memory is de-contextualized Signup and view all the answers

What aspect of knowledge does semantic fluency test primarily evaluate?

Semantic relatedness and retrieval speed of related items Signup and view all the answers

What happens during retrieval in semantic memory according to spreading activation?

Activation spreads from one concept to related concepts through the network Signup and view all the answers

What is a concept in the context of semantic memory?

A flexible neural representation of categories like objects or events Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Semantic Memory

Semantic knowledge allows humans to predict, understand, and respond to new experiences
It often arises from common elements of multiple experiences
Scientists use formal methods to organize knowledge about the world
Semantic memory needs to support fact retrieval and reasoning about relationships between facts
It also needs to support inferences about new experiences
Semantic networks organize knowledge hierarchically, with distances representing relatedness
Retrieval happens through spreading activation in the network
Semantic fluency tests measure category retrieval speed and order, reflecting semantic relatedness
Animal concepts are organized in semantic memory based on size and distance (how often people generated the concept) and how often two concepts are generated one after another
Priming in semantic memory happens when exposure to a stimulus influences a subsequent stimulus response, even without conscious awareness
Priming is done by presenting a prime stimulus during an unrelated task. The activation spreads to other related concepts, influencing behavior
Mental representations of visual objects (like faces) are complex layers of features organized by increasingly complex abstractions based on visual input
Words are composed of a fixed set of features (letters)

Recognizing Words

Comprehending text involves recognizing words and retrieving their meaning from semantic memory
Interactive activation theory describes how words are represented as combinations of letters, and vice-versa. These combinations also use line segments (features) as components that activate and spread within the network. Activation spreads in both directions, influencing word and letter recognition.
Words are recognized faster within an actual sentence versus a scrambled sentence or in an unfamiliar context

Conceptual Knowledge

Conceptual knowledge is organized in hierarchical associative networks.
Retrieval of semantic memory happens through spreading activation.
Lower-level features and higher-level concepts interact in representations.
Word superiority effect happens when recognizing words within a sentence increases recognition speed.
Activation of words can be very useful in recognizing individual parts of the word.
Semantic memory is de-contextualized, organized by meaning, and generalizable.

Category Learning

Category membership is graded (some items are better examples than others).
Family resemblance property: category members share overlapping features.
Prototype theory describes a concept as the central tendency of common features.
Prototypes are used to evaluate new objects and determine category membership
Similarity to the prototype affects how quickly an item is categorized
Categorization happens by comparing new stimuli to the stored prototype
Features can be physical or non-physical
Ambiguous or complex objects may be equidistant to multiple categories, and often harder to classify
Solso and McCarthy’s experiment showed that people are quicker to recognize highly similar faces compared to faces with little resemblance to a prototype
Categorizing involves comparing a new object to previously learned features
Categorization is not strictly all-or-nothing--some items are considered better examples than others.
Prototypes are the most common, ideal examples or features
Recognition of unusual features are less accurate than the other features of the prototype
Prototype theory is a concept theory that combines the most common features to recognize a category

Generalization

Generalization occurs when past learnings are applied to new situations based on perceived similarities of past experiences.
Generalization uses perceived similarities to predict consequences based on past experiences.
Discrimination learning distinguishes how animals/people learn to react to different stimuli.
Discrimination learning is important to learning how natural categories based on different outcomes, members are associated with different outcomes.
Through experience, one can deduce a relationship between features and different outcomes.

Discrimination Learning

Discrimination learning is a form of learning in which individuals learn to respond differently to different stimuli.
It's critical for classifying natural categories in meaningful ways.
Through experience, categories are associated with different outcomes (i.e., pigeons learned to discriminate between two tones based on different reward outcomes.)

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Description

This quiz explores the intricacies of semantic memory, including how semantic knowledge aids in predicting and responding to experiences. It covers concepts like semantic networks, retrieval processes, and the role of priming in memory. Test your understanding of how we organize and retrieve knowledge about the world.