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| Research article summary (published 30 Dec 2002): |
The use of category and similarity information in limiting hypotheses.
Full Abstract
Previous studies have shown that adults usually select diverse evidence for generalizing hypotheses. We investigated what kind of evidence people select in another type of inductive task:
limiting hypotheses. Whereas generalizing entails extending a property to all members of a category, limiting entails restricting a property to only members of a category. For example, if you know that elephants have property X, which would you test to determine whether only mammals have property
X:
a hippopotamus, a fox, a crocodile, or a snake? Both category and similarity information are relevant to selecting evidence to generalize or limit a hypothesis. Although 70% of participants chose diverse evidence for generalizing a hypothesis, only 25% chose the analogous evidence for limiting one. However, the percentage of participants choosing the appropriate evidence for limiting increased to 70% when they were given a rule for category membership. These results suggest that hypothesis-limiting behavior is affected by how participants establish category boundaries.
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Author information
Author/s: Kincannon, Alexandra (A); Spellman, Barbara A (BA);
Affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia 22904-4400, USA. kincannon(-atsign-)virginia.edu
Journal and publication information
Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
Journal: Memory & cognition (Mem Cognit), published in United States. (Language: eng)
Reference: 2003-Jan; vol 31 (issue 1) : pp 114-32
Dates: Created 2003/04/17; Completed 2003/05/14; Revised 2006/11/15;
PMID: 12699148, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)
Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.
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