Showing papers on "Similarity (psychology) published in 1987"

Emotion, cognitive structure and action tendency

Abstract: In current cognitive emotion theory emotional experiences are described as particular types of cognitive structures. Two studies are reported that test an implication of this theory, namely, the prediction that intuitive similarity of emotion or mood states corresponds with similarity between such structures. Cognitive structures of different emotions (“appraisal profiles”) were obtained by having subjects rate a number of emotions or mood words as to presence of a number of appraisal components. Intuitive similarity measures consisted of correlations between mood adjective questionnaire items and (in Study 2) outcomes of a word sorting task. High correspondence was found between appraisal profile similarities and intuitive similarities. Exploratory analyses confirmed the importance of several appraisal components discussed in the literature and provided tentative evidence for some additional ones. In a third study, the hypothesis was explored that cognitive structures of emotions also include re...

The Academic Life: Small Worlds, Different Worlds

Abstract: The American professoriate is enormously differentiated by discipline and type of institution on such primary dimensions of professionalism as patterns of work, identification, authority, career, and association. Integration across the professoriate no longer comes primarily from similarity of function and common socialization, but from the overlap of subcommunities and the mediating linkages provided by the ties of discipline and institution.

This is like that: The use of earlier problems and the separation of similarity effects.

Abstract: Novices attempting to solve a problem often are reminded of an earlier problem that illustrated a principle. Two experiments examined how these earlier problems are used and how this use is related to these remindings. Subjects studied four probability principles with related word problems. Test problems varied in their similarity to the study problems on story lines, objects, and correspondence of objects (variable roles). Experiment 1 tested whether remindings cue the principle or serve as the sources of detailed analogies. When the appropriate formula was provided with each test, the similarity of story lines had no effect, but object correspondences had a large effect. These results support an analogical account in which mapping is affected by the similarity of objects between study and test problems. Experiment 2 began to separate the aspects of similarity affecting the access and use of earlier problems by showing that, with confusable principles, similar story lines increased the access, but did not affect the use. The access appears to be sensitive to the relative similarity of examples because with distinctive principles, similar story lines had little effect. Discussion focuses on the further specification of the processes of noticing and analogical use of earlier problems.

The cognitive basis of knowledge transfer.

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the interrelationships between task structure, encoding and retrieval processes, and the prior knowledge of the learner, as these factors relate to transfer. It presents a distinction between perceived similarity of the training and transfer situations, based on salient common features of their representations, and objective structural similarity, based on the actual nature of the task components determining appropriate responses. Transfer is affected by both types of similarity. Perceived similarity determines whether transfer is attempted, whereas objective structural similarity determines whether transfer is positive or negative. The encoding of the training task fosters subsequent transfer to the extent that the learner acquires rules that are applicable to a range of superficially different tasks with structural commonalities. If the transfer task evokes similar goals and processing mechanisms, or has salient surface resemblances to the training task, these common components then serve as the basis for retrieval of the acquired knowledge in the transfer context. Several factors that influence learning and retention merit more extensive investigation in relation to transfer. One such factor is the role of context and contrast in determining the learner's representation of the training task.

Children and Metaphors.

Abstract: VOSNIADOU, STELLA. Children and Metaphors. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1987, 58, 870-885. Recent research on the development of children's abilities to comprehend and produce metaphorical language is reviewed. It is argued that the ability to produce and comprehend metaphorical language emerges out of children's undifferentiated similarity notions and develops gradually to encompass a greater variety of conceptual domains. Although we do not yet have adequate theories of how metaphor comprehension or production develop, there is good reason to believe that this is a continuous rather than a stagelike process, and that it is constrained primarily by limitations in children's knowledge and information-processing abilities. Furthermore, it appears that the comprehension and production of metaphorical language involve transfer of knowledge from one conceptual domain to another which, on the one hand, depends critically on the conceptual knowledge the child already has, and on the other acts to enrich and advance this conceptual knowledge.

Traits and social stereotypes: Levels of categorization in person perception.

Abstract: A theoretical distinction is made between trait categorization in person perception and categoriza-tion by means of well-articulated, concrete social stereotypes. Three studies test the prediction thatsocial stereotypes are both more associatively rich and more distinctive than are trait-defined catego-ries. In Study I, subjects sorted adjectives related to extroversion and introversion. A cluster analysisusing similarity measures derived from the sorting indicated that distinct social stereotypes wereassociated with each trait. This supports and extends earlier findings (Cantor & Mischel, 1979). InStudy 2, subjects generated attributes of the trait categories and stereotypes that emerged in Study1. More nonredundant attributes, especially visible features, were listed for the stereotypes than forthe trait categories. Study 3 elicited the explicit associative structure of traits and related stereotypesby having subjects rate the association between a series of attributes (derived from the responses inStudy 2) and each category label. Results showed that social stereotypes have distinctive featuresthat are not shared with the related trait category, whereas trait categories share virtually all oftheir features with related stereotypes. The implications of the trait/stereotype distinction for socialinformation processing are discussed.Substantial research has shown that the layperson assignsother individuals to social categories by means of implicit theo-ries of personality and uses these categories to predict potentialbehaviors, emotional reactions, personality attributes, atti-tudes, and values (Cantor & Mischel, 1979; Rosenberg & Sed-lack, 1972; Schneider, 1973; Wegner& Vallacher, 1977). In thisresearch, we contrast two types of representations used in socialcategorization, both of which can be observed in everyday life.First, people frequently use trait concepts to describe the essen-tial qualities of others. They may characterize people as tough,emotional, bright, or boring, for example, and in so doing as-sume that these traits have predictive power. In a second formof social categorization, people may explicitly categorize othersby thinking of them as members of a larger group. Such groupsoften bear a specific, socially shared label, such as redneck ordo-gooder, and they may be based on a number of features, in-cluding occupations and belief systems, as well as personalitytraits. These concepts are essentially well-articulated social ste-reotypes that are associated with a variety of highly visible char-acteristics, such as physical features, typical overt behaviors,and demographic identifications, in addition to relatively invisi-ble characteristics such as beliefs and internal experiences.Trait terms, in principle, designate single attributes that vari-ous kinds of people may possess. We propose on this basis that,considered in isolation, a given trait concept should not be veryWe would like to thank Deanna Bernstein, *Valerie Cathcart, and Su-sanna Perkins for their help in conducting this research.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to SusanM. Andersen, who is now at the Department of Psychology, New TforkUniversity, 6 Washington Place, 4th Floor, New York, New York 10003,or to Roberta L. Klatzky, Department of Psychology, University of Cali-fornia, Santa Barbara, California 93106.predictive because the individuals with this attribute may varyin a number of predictively important ways. By contrast, a per-son category representing a group of people who share manyattributes, behaviors, and attitudes should be predictive of thosevery features. In other words, trait categories should be sparsean d nonpredictive, wherea s social stereotype shoul be infor-mative and rich.Our view of trait-defined categories and social stereotypescan be undersood within the context of network approaches toknowledge representation (Anderson & Bower; 1972; Collins Q Higgins, Rholes, & Jones, 1977; Srull & Wyer,1980; 'Wyer & Carlston, 1979). In a network model, conceptualrepresentations, or nodes, are connected to one another bymeans of associative links, including connections between attri-butes and objects (e.g., soft-bed). In this terminology, we sug-gest that traits are linked by attribute-objective links to a num-ber of distinct stereotypes (and to a number of distinct individu-als). By contrast, stereotypes have object-attribute links notonly to traits but to many other types of features, includingovert behaviors and physical characteristics. Retrieval of a ste-reotype provides access to these features for purposes of socialprediction. Retrieval of a trait, on the other hand, is less predic-tive, both because its connections to other attributes are indi-rect and because the stereotypes with which it is linked are di-verse.Support for the notion that social stereotypes carry the bur-den of social prediction comes from a number of studies outsideof the trait domain. For example, it has been suggested that ste-reotypes such as housewife, mother, or temptress are embeddedwithin the category defined by woman (Ashmore & DelBoca,1979; Deaux & Lewis, 1984) and that a category defined onlyby sex may be too inclusive and abstract to be truly effective insocial prediction (e.g., Deaux & Lewis, 1984; Hamilton, 1981;235

Associative Positioning Strategies through Comparative Advertising: Attribute versus Overall Similarity Approaches:

Abstract: The authors compare the relative effectiveness of comparative/noncomparative and product-based/non-product-based advertising in the implementation of an associative strategy for cognitive brand pos...

POOL: A semantic model for approximate reasoning and its application in decision support

Abstract: :POOL—A Semantic Model for Approximate Reasoning—is based on the theory of linguistic fuzzy relations (lfr) and linguistic similarity relations (lsr). The proposed model combines the advantages of linguistic representation and numerical computation. Hence, it can facilitate knowledge representation and approximate reasoning for object/concept relation modeling especially in an environment containing imprecision, ambiguity, and/or uncertainty, which is often the case faced by knowledge engineers in building decision support systems.

Mechanisms of Analogical Learning.

Abstract: : It is widely agreed that similarity and analogy are important in transfer of learning. Recent research suggests that different kinds of similarity enter into different parts of the transfer process. For example, access to long-term memory is more influenced by surface similarity than is analogical inference once an analogy is present. In this paper I decompose similarity-based transfer into separate subprocesses and compare how different kinds of similarity affect each of these processes. Keywords: Similarity, Transfer, Analogical mapping, Analogical soundness, Access.

Knowledge organization and its role in representation and interpretation for time-varying data: the ALVEN system

Abstract: The so-called “first generation” expert systems were rule-based and offered a successful framework for building applications systems for certain kinds of tasks. Spatial, temporal, and causal reasoning, knowledge abstractions, and structuring are among topics of research for “second generation” expert systems. It is proposed that one of the keys for such research is knowledge organization. Knowledge organization determines control structure design, explanation and evaluation capabilities for the resultant knowledge base, and has strong influence on system performance. We are exploring a framework for expert system design that focuses on knowledge organization, for a specific class of input data, namely, continuous, time-varying data (image sequences or other signal forms). Such data are rich in temporal relationships as well as temporal changes of spatial relations, and are thus a very appropriate testbed for studies involving spatio-temporal reasoning. In particular, the representation formalism specifies the semantics of the organization of knowledge classes along the relationships of generalization/specialization, decomposition/aggregation, temporal precedence, instantiation, and expectation-activated similarity. A hypothesize-and-test control structure is driven by the class organizational principles, and includes several interacting dimensions of search (data-driven, model-driven, goal-driven temporal, and failure-driven search). The hypothesis ranking scheme is based on temporal cooperative computation, with hypothesis “fields of influence” being defined by the hypothesis' organizational relationships. This control structure has proven to be robust enough to handle a variety of interpretation tasks for continuous temporal data. A particular incarnation, the ALVEN system, for left ventricular performance assessment from X-ray image sequences, will be summarized in this paper.

Metaphor comprehension and knowledge of semantic domains.

Abstract: In this experiment, metaphor comprehension is found to affect similarity relations between concepts never presented in metaphor, but which belong to the same semantic domains as concepts previously related. In particular, concepts that would form appropriate metaphors increase in similarity as a consequence of reading other metaphors relating their domains, whereas concepts that would form inappropriate metaphors decrease in similarity. In addition, because the vehicle of a metaphor is the background against which the tenor is viewed, we predicted and obtained greater conceptual shifts in the tenors of metaphors than the vehicles. This asymmetry in movement also appeared in concepts from the same domain as the tenor, but which were never seen in metaphor, thus indicating that it is not simply the concept of. the tenor that is restructured by a metaphor, but the tenor's domain.

Pragmatic Sources of Analogical Reformation.

Abstract: The topic of this discussion is analogical change of a particular sort, namely that where, pretheoretically, meaning seems to have had a role to play in determining the direction taken by the change. Analogy is an area of linguistic change of the highest theoretical interest. No analogical changes can take place without the involvement of ‘performance’ factors in general, including a perceiving human agent as one of these (cf. Vincent, 1974; Anttila, 1977), for many analogical acts illustrate the human mind in a condition that is at the same time relatively free and relatively fettered. It is free in the sense that the inferential processes used in the cases that interest us are ABDUCTIVE (cf. Andersen, 1973: 775; but contrast Mayerthaler, 1980: 126–7); that is, given some facts, a law may be invoked which allows the reasoner to infer that something MAY, not MUST, be the case, and to act upon that possibility in a creative way. The basic data in this paper include instances of similarity between lexemes, a notion which will receive the closest scrutiny. In the changes we will examine, people appear to invoke a law-like principle to the effect that there is a close relation between similarity of form and similarity of meaning. And they infer, abductively, that cases of similarity in such instances may be failed examples of sameness, and accordingly may replace the state of similarity by one of sameness (cf. Panagl, 1982: 5). The result is therefore the fruit of not always unreasonable guesswork rather than of the logical security of deduction (or induction). The mind is fettered in the sense that it appears condemned to try to make something transparent, or at least formally transparent, out of what is linguistically obscure; its activity is thus constrained by the rest of the linguistic system with which it operates. It is in the condition of an electrician who is summoned to sort out a dangling wire and connects it up to the first other dangling wire that he or she finds.

Recall of common and distinctive features of verbal and pictorial stimuli

Abstract: Subjects first rated similarity of verbal and of pictorial stimuli. The same pairs of stimuli were presented again, without one common component and one distinctive component. Subjects were asked to recall the missing components and identify them as common or distinctive. The results show that components encoded as common are recalled relatively better than components encoded as distinctive, and the difference in recall is significantly greater in verbal than in pictorial stimuli.

Changes in consumer choice: Further investigation of similarity and attraction effects

Abstract: Attraction and substitution effects have been shown to be important determinants of brand choice when a new brand is added to a choice set. A simple framework is proposed for predicting the effect on relative market shares when a new brand is added to the choice set in an experimental setting. The study attempts to replicate previous results concerning the relative impact of attraction and similarity and to extend empirical findings to brand attribute positionings not examined in recent research on the attraction effect. Generally, the proposed framework operates as hypothesized, and results suggest that, in some instances, a new brand may benefit substantially from the joint effects of attraction and similarity.

A Method and Metric for Assessing Similarity among Dyads

Abstract: Ascertaining substantive similarities between members of dyads is often difficult to accomplish. Assessments of similarity between dyad members are frequently made with statistical tools that are inappropriate for that purpose. In this article, problems in defining and measuring similarity with dyadic data are reviewed and a simple alternative is proposed. The method of planned comparisons between related and random dyads is illustrated with the use of sociopolitical attitude data from three-generation families. Results show both greater and less intergenerational attitude similarity in certain domains than would have been discerned on the basis of correlations or difference scores alone.

CHARADE: a rule system learning system

Abstract: Designed for an operational prospect, the CHARADE system automatically learns consistent rule systems from a description language, a set of axioms reflecting the language semantics and a set of examples The technique advocated below is based on a "generate and test" mechanism where the description space is explored from the more general to the more specific descriptions Rules and properties to be obtained are translated into exploration procedure constraints thanks to formalization of the learning set with two Boolean latticesThe underlying theoretical framework allows to both justify the heuristics conventionnaly used similarity based-learning and to introduce global properties to be satisfied by a rule system during its construction

A Review of Rationales for Integrated Arts Programs

Abstract: The fundamental assumptions of integrated and multi-arts programs can be summarized as follows: (a) there is a similarity across the arts; (b) incorporating the arts into other subject matter areas...

The relation of perceived situation similarity to perceived behavior similarity: Implications for social learning theory

Abstract: A number of theories suggest that people behave similarly in similar situations. Social learning theory in particular suggests that people behave similarly in situations perceived to be similar in ...

Developmental Studies of Perception and Metaphor: The Twain Shall Meet

Abstract: A model is presented to guide investigation of the developmental relationships among different verbal and nonverbal abilities related to metaphor. It specifies the nonverbal context supporting children's use of metaphors and also details what type of nonverbal- information children are likely to detect and talk about figuratively. A general statement of theoretical orientation, characteristics of metaphor and related abilities, and the development of metaphor abilities are discussed, focusing on children's understanding of naturally occurring kinds and their detection of similarity across kinds (metaphoric similarity). The theoretical and empirical implications of the model are considered, along with developmental studies based on the model. These show that the nature of the perceptual information available influences the likelihood of children's detecting the similarity of objects different in kind, as well as the likelihood and form of figurative descriptions. In addition, it has been shown that percept...

Does charm need depth? Similarity and levels-of-processing effects in cued recall.

Abstract: Eich {1985) recently presented a distributed memory model in which the pattern of results used to support the levels-of-processing view of Craik and Lockhart (1972) was modeled by different degrees of similarity between the encoding context and the to-be-recalled item. We report two experiments in which both phonemic and semantic similarity were varied between pairs of words and incidental acquisition (rhyme vs. category judgments) was varied across the same pairs of items. In both experiments the manipulation of the acquisition task produced a difference in cued-recall performance for positive and negative rhyme and category judgments. Recall was better following a category encoding decision than following a rhyme decision. This difference was independent of the effects of similarity, which demonstrated that Eich*s (1985) assumptions regarding the effects of similarity are not sufficient to account for the differences resulting from the manner in which subjects encode information. An alternative method of modeling the levels-of-processing effect within the framework of distributed memory models is proposed. The levels-of-processing approach has been an influential framework for research in human memory since Craik and Lockhart's seminal (1972) paper. According to the levels-ofprocessing view, memory for events is determined by the type of processing that is performed on the to-be-encoded material. Recently, Eich (1985) has offered a different theoretical interpretation of the typical results used to support the levels of processing framework. According to Eich's view, differences in memory performance between encoding conditions result from differences in the degree of similarity between the target items and their respective context. The present article contrasts the levels-of-processing approach with Eich's similarity hypothesis and reports an empirical investigation that pits these two views against each other.

Affective asymmetry in social perception

Abstract: Moreland & Zajonc (1982) obtained measures of familiarity, favourability, and similarity to self in person perception, and argued that these are all mediated via a single affective factor. Their data can, however, be interpreted to support a two-factor model such as that previously advanced by Zajonc (1980). An experiment was carried out to investigate this possible interpretation, using ratings on the same three indices for 45 trait adjectives. Independent links were found between similarity and familiarity, and between similarity and favourability, thus supporting dual mediation. It was also found that, while the response distributions for familiarity and similarity were symmetrical about the subject means, the favourability distribution was strongly asymmetrical. It was inferred that the informational bias identified by Benjafield & Adams-Webber (1976) may constitute an operating characteristic of a relatively independent affective mediator.

Gender-related sexual attitudes: Some crosscultural similarities and differences

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that males differentiate love and sex more strongly than females, and that the magnitude of this gender difference is augmented in homosexuals and diminished in married heterosexuals. American and Swedish subjects sorted statements describing behaviors of love, sex, and services into two piles on the basis of perceived similarity. The results of all three studies were consistent with the predictions. In addition, the findings suggest that Americans differentiate love and sex more strongly than Swedes.

Preference and similarity: affective and cognitive judgement?

Abstract: This study is a test of some implications of the distinction between cognitive and affective processes proposed by Zajonc (1980), applied to preference and similarity judgements. Preference and similarity data were obtained for male and female subjects judging male and female cinema actors. Preference judgements were assumed to be an example of primarily affective judgement, similarity was assumed to be mainly cognitive. It was furthermore assumed that men when judging women and women judging men should be more affectively involved than the opposite cases. It was predicted (a) that making preference judgements would be more confident, (b) that such judgements would be more stable, (c) that preference judgements would show a more simple structure than similarity judgements. and (d) that the difference between similarities and preferences with regard to the level of complexity indicated by the ratings should be especially large with large affective involvement. In support of Zajonc’s model, preference judgements were given with more confidence by the subjects and they were more stable over time. There was a tendency for similarity spaces to be more complex for affectively involved subjects while the opposite occurred for preference ratings. Women seemed to react more negatively to the similarity task than men did.