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Creating a More Natural Multidimensional Category

Matthew Zivot, University of Massachusetts - Amherst

Document Type: Open Access

Degree Program

Psychology

Degree Type

Master of Science (M.S.)

Year Degree Awarded

2009

Month Degree Awarded

February

Primary Subject Category

Psychology

Secondary Subject Category

Psychology

Keywords

Category Construction, Modeling

Advisor(s) or Committee Chair

Cohen, Andrew

 

Abstract

Three experiments examined category creation with no feedback and minimal feedback by using modeling to determine number of dimensions subjects attended to. In the first experiment, subjects were shown a series of two-dimensional objects with no training and no feedback and asked to categorize the stimuli. Subjects in experiment 1 mostly attended to one dimension. In the second experiment, subjects shown similar two-dimensional stimuli but were given minimal feedback. Significantly more subjects in experiment 2 attended to both dimensions. In the third experiment, subjects were trained on three related two-dimensional categories and then asked to categorize four. Performance in experiment 3 was similar to that of experiment 1, where subjects mainly attended to 1 dimension. These findings indicate that a more natural feedback structure would help subjects create categories that resemble those used in everyday life.

Recommended Citation

Zivot, Matthew, "Creating a More Natural Multidimensional Category" (2009). Masters Theses. Paper 244.
http://scholarworks.umass.edu/theses/244