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Full text release has been delayed at the author's request until September 01, 2025

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An Investigation of the Role of Contrast Cues in Parainformative Categorization

Wimsatt, Jay A., Jr.
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6105-0261
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1588088767016907

Abstract Details

2020, Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, Experimental Psychology (Arts and Sciences).
To date, categorization research has been primarily restricted to a general paradigm, termed the serioinformative categorization task (Vigo, 2013, 2014). This task involves the sequential presentation of object stimuli to participants who must make categorization decisions to some set of possible categories, a target and one or more contrast categories. Corrective feedback directs participant learning throughout the task. These contrast categories are largely thought to be a necessary component of the processes underlying concept learning, as can be seen in the Context Model (Medin & Schaffer, 1978) and its generalization (GCM; Nosofsky, 1984, 1986). These popular models require that contrast information be input to derive categorization predictions. Moreover, the serioinformative task is designed such that a contrast category may be constructed; that is, the method presumes the conclusion. I argue that contrast cues are not necessary for all instantiations of human categorization, and I examine their role in the parainformative paradigm (Vigo, 2013, 2014) to lend evidence to that claim. Furthermore, I utilize three models within Generalized Invariance Structure Theory (GIST; Vigo, 2013, 2014) to account for the results and compare their performance to that of the GCM. I elaborate on the theoretical shortcomings of the GCM which render it inadequate for making predictions of the data derived from research of this design and also on the strengths of GIST in its stead.
Ronaldo Vigo, PhD (Advisor)
Keith Markman, PhD (Committee Member)
Chao-Yang Lee, PhD (Committee Member)
71 p.
Cognitive Psychology
Concept learning; categorization; contrast cues; modeling; GCM; GIST

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Wimsatt, Jr., J. A. (2020). An Investigation of the Role of Contrast Cues in Parainformative Categorization [Master's thesis, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1588088767016907

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Wimsatt, Jr., Jay. An Investigation of the Role of Contrast Cues in Parainformative Categorization. 2020. Ohio University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1588088767016907.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Wimsatt, Jr., Jay. "An Investigation of the Role of Contrast Cues in Parainformative Categorization." Master's thesis, Ohio University, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1588088767016907

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1588088767016907
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.