Abstract
Typicality effects are among the most well-studied phenomena in the study of concepts. The classical notion of typicality is that typical concepts share many features with category co-members and few features with members of contrast categories. However, this notion was challenged by evidence that typicality is highly context dependent and not always dependent on central tendency. Dieciuc and Folstein (2019) argued that there is strong evidence for both views and that the two types of typicality effects might depend on different mechanisms. A recent theoretical framework, the controlled semantic cognition framework (Lamdon Ralph et al., 2017) strongly emphasizes the classical view, but includes mechanisms that could potentially account for both kinds of typicality. In contrast, the situated cognition framework (Barsalou, 2009b) articulates the context-dependent view. Here, we review evidence from cognitive neuroscience supporting the two frameworks. We also briefly evaluate the ability of computational models associated with the CSC to account for phenomena supporting SitCog (Rogers and McClelland, 2004). Many predictions of both frameworks are borne out by recent cognitive neuroscience evidence. While the CSC framework can at least potentially account for many of the typicality phenomena reviewed, challenges remain, especially with regard to ad hoc categories.
Highlights
The classic interpretation of typicality effects is rooted in similarity, which can be expressed in terms of number of features shared between two representations or in terms of their distance from each other in a continuous psychological space (Shepard, 1964; Tversky, 1977)
In our recent paper on functional and structural typicality (Dieciuc and Folstein, 2019), we review several lines of evidence cited in support of SitCog, including ratings of typicality in ad hoc categories (Barsalou, 1983, 1985), changes in typicality ratings depending on the perspective taken by the observer (Barsalou and Sewell, 1984), changes in typicality ratings depending on the context of the rated object (Roth and Shoben, 1983; Freeman, 2014), and use of ideals rather than central tendency for typicality ratings, ideals being a measure of usefulness for a task or goal (Barsalou, 1985; Lynch et al, 2000; Burnett et al, 2005)
Focusing on evidence from cognitive neuroscience, this review contrasted two frameworks – the controlled semantic cognition framework and the situated cognition framework – in their ability to account for a range of typicality phenomena that have been observed over several decades
Summary
The classical notion of typicality is that typical concepts share many features with category co-members and few features with members of contrast categories This notion was challenged by evidence that typicality is highly context dependent and not always dependent on central tendency. We briefly evaluate the ability of computational models associated with the CSC to account for phenomena supporting SitCog (Rogers and McClelland, 2004). Many predictions of both frameworks are borne out by recent cognitive neuroscience evidence. While the CSC framework can at least potentially account for many of the typicality phenomena reviewed, challenges remain, especially with regard to ad hoc categories
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