Classification and Cognition

by William K. Estes

Overview

Based on Estes' important Fitts Lectures, this volume details a set of psychological concepts and principles that offers a unified interpretation of a wide variety of memory, categorization, and decision-making phenomena. These phenomena are explained via two families of models established by the author: a storage-retrieval model and an adaptive network model. Estes considers whether the models are competing or complementary, offering cogent and instructive arguments for both perspectives. Estes' theory is then applied to two large-scale series of studies on category learning and recognition, providing an integrated understanding of seemingly disparate phenomena. This book is the culmination of the author's more than ten years of research in the field, and stands as a great achievement by one of this century's eminent psychologists. It will be indispensable to a wide variety of behavioral scientists, including mathematical and cognitive psychologists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780195073355
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	01/06/1994
Series:	Oxford Psychology Series , #22
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	6.38(w) x 9.56(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Harvard University

Table of Contents

1. Introduction and Basic Concepts1.1. Classification and Cognition: An Overview1.2. The Array Model Framework2. Category Structures and Categorization2.1. Similarity in Theories of Classification2.2. Predicting Categorization Performance3. Models for Category Learning3.1. The Exemplar-Similarity Model3.2. Network-based Learning Models4. Categorization and Memory Processing5. On the Storage and Retrieval of Categorical Information6. Extensions and Applications of the Exemplar-Similarity Model7. Categorization and Recognition8. Categorization and Cognition: Reprise

Editorial Reviews

"The research presented here is important for three reasons. First, it sets a standard for rigor, parsimony and theoretical elegance in cognitive modeling. Second. . . it offers a coherent and predictive system for tackling both specific and general issues. Third, it provides formal tools for quantitative modeling of complex systems that researchers in many fields could effectively borrow."—Science

"The book serves as a summary of the empirical and theoretical underpinnings of current ideas in classification and cognition....Estes appears at his best when articulating the limitations and merits of each approach.—Psychological Reports

From the Publisher