Psychology 3130A/B Chapter 2: Chapter 2-Similarity

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 3130A/B
• Professor: Mark Holden

Document Summary

Where does it really mean for two things and two ideas to be similar to each other. This may seem simple but is actually fairly complex. Lay theory, similarity: a construct that is easy to recognize but it is difficult to describe. Similarity: domain general construct --> operates according to same principles whether or not objects/ideas are compared visually, auditory, lexical, directly perceived, or recalled from memory; therefore, similarity as computation is carried out in same way regardless of context; flexible. Conceptual similarity allows us to rate 2 canadian coins as being similar (deeper) Perception of surface similarity allows us to rate 2 pennies (american vs. Process of object recognition assumed to require assessment of similarities between incoming perceptual representation and mental representations that have been stored in memory. Objects recognized as a function of their similarity to stored patterns of known and previously seen objects. Understanding similarity is crucial for understanding object recognition process.