Analyzing Brain Activity in Categorization PDF

Analyzed brain activity Categorical profil: have categories for the rules...

Analyzed brain activity Categorical profil: have categories for the rules If separated or together Rule instructions -> see if it fits Greater profil: look at features -> match & Similarity instructions Brain regions for categorizing unmatch AD (alzheimers) patients damage in prefrontal Opposite for CBD (cortical baisal degeneration) cortex impaired in rule categorization, but not patients (impaired in similarity, but not in rule) similarity categorizations Multiple systems of category Found double dissociation -> can separate Explicit categorization vs implicit categorization learning Rule distinctive areas: prefrontal regions Neuroimaging studys Similarity distinctive areas: parietal areas Mediatemporal lobe damage: normal on implicit Study categorization, bad on explicit Implicit memory: deactivation in posterior cortex Study: if you work on implicit memory Hypothesis: a aversion result from how misshapen fruits and vegetables compare to One factor behind food waste is that consumers Consumers might have developed biased exemplars that consumers have encountered in Food waste is extremely expensive and has a tend to reject fruits and vegetables due to prototypes the past -> idolize prototypes for most fruits significant negative environmental effect superficial cosmetic imperfections and vegetables bias expectations of how these food have to look Businesses have been motivated to adopt Aesthetic standards might also impact food aesthetic standards for the produce that they sell waste due to the dislike of consumers of imperfect produce Respective prototypes will differ based on previous exposure When appearance is non-prototypical it may People lack direct inside into these internal Compared to man-made objects, people tend to Conceptual background lead consumers to infer that there is something properties, they instead draw on the natural reason about natural objects as though they have wrong with it on a deeper more fundamental object physical appearance in order to make casually deep hidden properties, which determine level inferences about its unobservable properties their identity Since contagious diseases often accompanied by non-typical physical appearances, humans have developed a tendency to exhibit avoidance, and disgust in response to exemplars whose physical form deviate from the ideal category 287 participants were randomly assigned to one Are than us to ratw the tomato on a three items of two experimental conditions: high aesthetic Method scale, including ratings of prototypicality value vs. low aesthetic value Are shown an image of a tomato that was either high or low in aesthetic value, and were asked to imagine that they came across it while in their local grocery store Positive relationship between experience and Study 1: Ratings of Prototypicality for the high aesthetic prototypicality (more experience picking and value tomato did not vary based on experience growing is related to viewing the low aesthetic value tomato as more prototypical) Confirmed hypothesis Positive relationship between experience and Evaluations of the high aesthetic value to evaluation (more experience growing, and tomato did not vary based on experience picking is related to higher evaluations for the On the epidemic of food waste: low aesthetic value tomato) prototypes and the aversion to Results misshapen fruits and vegetables Hypothesis: People who have hands-on experience with growing produce are likely to value it more, even if it’s not very beautiful, because their direct involvement mediates or influences their evaluation of the produce. Same method as above Method Positive relationship between experience and prototypicality for the low aesthetic value condition Study 2 Positive relationship between experience and evaluation for the low aesthetic value condition Confirmed hypothesis Results Experience picking and growing produce increased, participants reported less discussed towards the low aesthetic values strawberry Indirect effect of experience on evaluations Statistical procedure was conducted to test through discussed was conditional on aesthetic whether disgust mediated the interactive effect value of aesthetic value and experience on evaluations Hypothesis: positive relationship between having direct experience with a product and the intention to buy it again, especially if the product has low aesthetic appeal Same as above Method All results from previous studies were replicated Results Study 3: 🥒 Is essential and enables us to interact with the Concept: building block of semantic knowledge environment (makes us able to make inferences Sales and customer loyalty are less likely to (e.g. dog) and predict behavior) suffer as a result of a retailer selling misshapen produce when consumers had direct experience Discussion: Concept formation and Natural category: group of entities that exist in with produce and consequently had less biased the natural world (e.g. birds) prototypes categorization Category: class of concepts that share Artefact category: group of man-made objects By exposing people to natural variations in the common properties (e.g. animals = all organisms that are designed with the specific goal or aesthetic value of fruits and vegetables, direct capable of voluntary movement) function in mind (e.g. computer) Increasing consumer exposure to misshapen experience with cultivation of these foods can produce, may increase the acceptance of these result in the formation of more realistic products Nominal category: group of objects, or ideas prototypes, reducing the aversion to the misshapen produce Conclusion that are put together based on an arbitrary characteristic (e.g. ‘positive numbers’ or ‘things that can be found in someone’s office’) Genetics group: participants read about research describing how “obesity genes” relate to one’s weight E.g. concept of a “triangle” is defined by having three sides—this is necessary (a triangle must Participants were randomly assigned to read one have three sides) and sufficient (if something has Experiences group: participants read about of three newspaper articles that discussed three sides, it’s a triangle) research describing how peoples social networks obesity-related research followed by a series of Method relate to the weight food related assignments (in which they sample Definition: rule containing a set of defining and evaluate flavors of cookies) features that are together individually Individually necessary: all members of the necessary and jointly sufficient for category category have each of these features Control group: participants read an unrelated people do not process information about membership article about corn production genetic attributions in a rational way -> instead Study genetic causes are often understood Jointly sufficient: if all of these features are fundamentally differently from other kinds of presented in a given instance, it is member of the People in genetic group ate 1/3 more cookies category than people in the other two groups which did causes not differ significantly from each other Explanation: Binary: object is either a member or not a Results member of a category Results suggest that people become more fatalistic (feeling that they have less control and pessimistic about changing it) about the weight Through its definition, a concept was select all when learning about genetic causes for the members of the category and only its members obesity, but not when learning about experiential causes of obesity Classification is not affected by context the only thing that matters is the set of rules in the belief that certain categories (like race or definition gender) have an underlying, unchangeable Psychological phenomena related to essence that makes members of that category E.g. Animal (broadest category) essentialism are more prevalent among western fundamentally similar and members of other Concepts can be organized using a hierarchy of Mammal (a subset of animals) populations than among East Asians races or genders fundamentally different). It In classical theory of categorization, inclusion relations Dog (a subset of mammals) assumes these traits are natural and fixed. categories are definitions Sheltie (a subset of dogs) Essences of objects are perceived to be Simple concepts: defined by simple attribute People believe natural things (like animals) have a immutable - they lie deep in an individual and (e.g. “ objects have to be triangles to belong to fixed, underlying “essence,” but man-made cannot be affected by outside influences, yet category X”) objects don’t have such an unchangeable nature. they give rise to all that people see around them Conjunctive concepts: several attributes have Generalizes to peoples perception of ethnic 3 types of concepts: to be met together (e.g. “ object has to be groups and it’s a core foundation of prejudice used to draw the boundaries of categories: they square and black”) represent what members of the category share in People believe they can make inferences about common and what differentiates them from Disjunctive concepts: require that at least one what a newly encountered individual may be members of different categories Essences: hidden, unchanging qualities that attribute is present (“the object has to be square -> hardest to learn, rare use able to do based on the imagined essence of people believe define what something truly is. or black to belong to category X”) his/her group The study of Thinking (Bruner et al. 1956): People have found it difficult to identify the Objects are perceived acquire the essence of Empirical data supporting: used geometric shapes of a colors, size and categories when information about previous their owners numbers to study how people attain concepts. trials had to be kept in short-term memory Study: American undergraduate studies refuse Easier when using external memory aids (e.g. to wear Hitler sweater, regardless how much it Can be transferred from individual to individual pencil and paper) has been dry cleaned, for fear of coming in while preserving their own original identity touch with his contaminating essence Successive scanning: testing one hypothesis at Classical theory Results: a time (trying one solution, and if it doesn’t work, 1/3 of recipient of heart transplants, believe they moving on to the next have acquired traits from their donors Conservative focusing: Making small, cautious Because of this overlap, the authors claim that changes to your hypothesis to see what works (If Genes are perceived to be deep, immutable and when people are thinking about genes, they are you’re solving a puzzle, you change one piece at potentially accessible to experts (just like not really thinking about genes, but about = belief that a person’s traits, behaviors, or a time to see if it fits, keeping the other pieces essences) Psychological essentialism metaphysical essences abilities are entirely determined by their genes, Limitations in attention and short-term memory the same) ignoring the role of environment or experiences led to the development of three main strategies: Transferred from one generation to the next Focus gambling: Taking a bold guess and making big changes all at once (quickly try a Essences as placeholders: means that people completely different solution to see if it solves believe there's a hidden quality or explanation the problem faster, but it’s riskier) for why things are the way they are, even if they can't fully explain or identify what that essence Choice of strategy is affected by constraints is. imposed by time, pressure and limits in memory capacity People readily invoke genes to explain a broad Limited public understanding of genetic science range of diseases, capabilities and behaviors as Theoretical objection: argues that many real- and genetic diseases, which is why the public is genes are often invoked as the embodiment of world concepts don’t fit neatly into clear, rigid biased to believe that single genes determine metaphysical essence than as a component of a definitions with necessary and sufficient complex behaviors biological process for building proteins conditions genetic factors are seen as the main drivers, Determinism/Immutability: refers to the belief Ludwig Wittgenstein (1953): impossible to Family resemblance: members of the category leaving little room for environmental influence or that genes entirely determine a person’s traits, identify the necessary and sufficient conditions resemble each other in different ways (different personal change behaviors, and characteristics for many concepts features) Single Etiology: a single genetic factor is Rosch & Mervis (1975): asked people to list attributes of members of a category (like “birds” fits with family resemblance (Wittgenstein) responsible for a trait or condition -> simplifies complex traits by assuming there is one primary or “furniture”), people gave nonessential traits genetic cause, rather than recognizing the that don’t always apply to all members of that challenges the binary yes/no idea of interactions of multiple genes and environmental category. E.g. they might say “flies” for birds, but categorizing things, because it shows that many factors not all birds fly (like penguins) categories are fuzzy and don’t fit neatly into strict, all-or-nothing definitions These biases (measured by genetic essentialist reinforces the belief that people can be placed scale GETS) predict various outcomes, such as into clear, unchanging categories, based solely Problems: Showed that people disagree when categorizing fatalism, negative use of human nature, various on their genetic makeup objects, classification is not stable overtime Homogeneity/Discreteness: suggests that forms of prejudice, health pessimism, and traits like race or gender are genetically distinct Genetic essentialism framework (GEF): Genetic essentialism Barsalou (1983): explain to the participants reduced intentions to engage in healthy Between-subject disagreement at one time and Highlighting biological/genetic differences and separate suggest the genetic attribution for various traits, what the phrase “ necessary, and sufficient behaviors within-subject disagreement between times between men and woman increases adoption of stereotypical descriptors condition or diseases, activate 4 specific psychological processes (genetic essentialist Task 2 - Boxed-in: properties” meant; answers corresponded to family resemblance structures (people change their opinion on the category) biases) Naturalistic fallacy : elements which are Naturalness: assumes that genetic traits are Essentials (Strange Assumption that concepts are organized in a strict hierarchy Prediction: membership judgments should be transitive (if A=B & B=C, then A=C) perceived as natural are also perceived as inherently good and desirable natural, inherent, and unchangeable -> implies that because these traits are inherited, they are fruit) biologically predetermined and cannot be Essentially biased: why are people Hampton (1982): showed that it’s not always E.g. people agree that car seats were chairs and Majority of consumers wish to avoid GMOs fatalistic about genes chairs are furniture, but car seats are no altered by external influences or personal transitive (gentechnisch veränderte Lebensmittel) even furniture. though they are safe to eat because there are efforts “against nature” = classical view explains some data from concept attainment experiments where Strong genetic explanation: particular artificial materials used but has difficulties E.g. link between dominant allele and yellow pod with more naturalistic categories biological process that has been identified which color in Mendels experiment can explain a large part of a phenotype Are these biases irrational? Human traits are more often associate with Majority of other phenotypes, which emerge many, genetic variants, each of which accounts from weak genetic explanation for very small percentage of the behavioral variability (weak genetic explanation) E.g. Birds: Robin good prototype, penguin bad prototype By emphasizing the epistatic or polygenic nature of most genetic causes or to manipulate peoples Trying to get people to understand the complex perception of the strength of a genetic effect gene outcome relations Presented as a set of characteristic features Short term efforts to reduce genetic essentialism Research shows that it’s not necessarily Highlight the role of external and non-genetic perceived much differently than purely genetic factors in order to complicate the genetic Prototype: the most typical member of a accounts causal story category or a set of such members Perniciousness of genetic essentialism Explanation: Results suggest that an effective long-term Higher educational levels predict less Characteristic features: features that best Found by averaging the description of all the Features are characteristic and not defining -> strategy for stemming genetic essential as prejudice No experimental data on the efficiency of long-