The fickle nature of similarity change as a result of categorization

Abstract

Several researchers have reported that learning a particular categorization leads to compatible changes in the similarity structure of the categorized stimuli. The purpose of this study is to examine whether different category structures may lead to greater or less corresponding similarity change. We created six category structures and examined changes in similarity within categories or between categories, as a result of categorization, in between-participant conditions. The best supported hypothesis was that the ease of learning a categorization affects change in within-categories similarity, so that greater (within-categories) similarity change was observed for category structures that were harder to learn.

Keywords:

• Categorization
• Similarity
• Categorical perception

A preliminary report of this work was made at the 2013 meeting of the Cognitive Science Society. The US Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for governmental purpose notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon. We would like to thank Lucy Kift and Thom Wilcockson for help with data collection and Rob Goldstone for his helpful comments.

E.M.P. was supported by Leverhulme Trust [grant number RPG-2013-004]; Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), Air Force Material Command, USAF [grant number FA 8655-13-1-3044].