ERIC Number: EJ1386197
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Sep
Pages: 23
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: EISSN-1939-1285
Available Date: N/A
Accurate Knowledge about Feature Diagnosticities Leads to Less Preference for Unidimensional Strategy
Thomas, Sujith; Srinivasan, Narayanan
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v49 n9 p1396-1418 Sep 2023
In classification learning of artificial stimuli, participants learn the perfectly diagnostic dimension better than the partially diagnostic dimensions. Also, there is a strong preference for a unidimensional categorization based on the perfectly diagnostic dimension. In a different experimental procedure, called array-based classification task, participants do not exhibit a preference for a unidimensional categorization. In Experiment 1, we replicate the above results. In Experiment 2, we show that when participants learn the partially diagnostic features through repeated testing, there is a decrease in unidimensional categorization. We use Bayesian modeling to show that only those participants who learned the diagnosticity of a dimension with a high level of accuracy ([greather than or equal to]75%) used the dimension for categorization. Our results show that whenever accurate knowledge about feature diagnosticities is available, there is a lesser preference for unidimensional categorization. Our results provide a possible explanation for the preference of unidimensional categorization in classification and observation learning.
Descriptors: Classification, Bayesian Statistics, Observational Learning, Preferences, Accuracy, Learning Processes, College Students, Foreign Countries
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: India
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Data File: URL: https://osf.io/7d9jk/
Author Affiliations: N/A