Lloyd Komatsu

Experimenting with the mind : readings in cognitive psychology

Brooks/Cole Pub. Co. eBooks, 1994

Acquistion of knowledge: Sensory register and attention Visual perception Episodic memories. Repr... more Acquistion of knowledge: Sensory register and attention Visual perception Episodic memories. Representation of knowledge: Organization and priming of knowledge Concepts and imagery. Higher-order processing of knowledge: Language and comprehension Reasoning and judgment Problem-solving. Everyday cognitive experiences: Everyday memory and decision-making Group and individual differences in cognition.

Mapping Millikan's conceptual work onto (empirical) work by psychologists

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Feb 1, 1998

There are three points of difference between psychologists&amp;#39; assumptions and those tha... more There are three points of difference between psychologists&amp;#39; assumptions and those that Millikan suggests: (1) concepts as representations versus concepts as reflecting a capacity; (2) concepts having a role in categorization and inference versus a role in reidentification; and (3) the “basic level” as an aspect of the “vertical” dimension of categories versus being a kind of category, on a par with natural kinds.

Children's differential performance on deductive and inductive syllogisms

Developmental Psychology, 1997

At what age and in what ways do children distinguish deductive and inductive problems? In Experim... more At what age and in what ways do children distinguish deductive and inductive problems? In Experiment 1, students from kindergarten and from Grades % 4, and 6 were presented with deductive or inductive inference problems and asked to draw an inference and rate their confidence. By 4th grade, confidence ratings for deductive problems were higher than those for inductive problems, and responses were faster for deductive than for inductive items. In Experiment 2, students from Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 responded to the same problems used in Experiment I but were asked to provide explanations for their responses. Again, confidence was higher with deductive than with inductive problems, and latency to respond was faster for deductive than for inductive items. Further, explanations differed as a function of the type of problem. These findings help fill in gaps in the emerging picture of the development of children's reasoning skills. Recent research on children's reasoning abilities and competence has presented a fascinating but complex picture. On the one hand, accumulating evidence seems to suggest that, at least in some circumstances, even preschoolers are capable of drawing deductively valid conclusions (Dias & Harris, 1988; Hawkins, Pea, Glick, & Scribner, 1984). On the other hand, some work suggests that sophisticated mastery of deductive inference, as well as full, explicit understanding of the idea of logical necessity, does not emerge before early adolescence (Ga

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Defining features of natural kinds and artifacts

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, Sep 1, 1989

Two experiments investigated the role of three types of features (physical characteristics, funct... more Two experiments investigated the role of three types of features (physical characteristics, functions, and chromosomal~molecular structure) in determining membership in natural kind and artifact categories. In the first, subjects decided if an object ' 'X'" would still be an "X" if it were different in one type of feature. A significant interaction was found between word type and change type, with the effects of chromosomal~molecular changes significantly greater for natural kinds than for artifacts, and the effects of functional changes significantly greater for artifacts than natural kinds. In the second experiment, subjects judged whether something would be an "'X'" if it were unlike instances of "X" in two of the above types of features, but like instances of "X" in one. There was again a significant interaction, with the effects of chromosomal~molecular features significantly greater for natural kinds than for artifacts, and the effects of functional changes significantly greater for artifacts than for natural kinds. These results suggest that chromosomal~molecular features define membership in natural kind categories and functional features define membership in artifact categories. The implications of these findings for the meaning of "defining features" are also discussed. Cognitive psychologists and philosophers have long given a great deal of attention to how people categorize and label objects and events. This interest stems primarily from the recognition that categorization is a The first experiment was conducted by the first author as part of a senior comprehensive exercise at Carleton College. We thank Kathleen Galotti, Matthew Gish, Neil Lutsky, and an anonymous reviewer for comments on earlier drafts of this article. 1Carleton College.

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Deconstructing the psychology of language. Book Reviews

Applied Cognitive Psychology, Jun 1, 1997

Why study deduction?

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, Jun 1, 1993

Book Review: The Development of Cognitive Anthropology

Applied Cognitive Psychology, Jun 1, 1996

Correlates of syllogistic reasoning skills in middle childhood and early adolescence

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, Feb 1, 1988

Sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, and college students, were given a preliminary test of... more Sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, and college students, were given a preliminary test of categorical syllogistic reasoning ability. In a subsequent session, subjects were given other categorical syllogisms and asked to depict as many of the possible relationships between the A, B, and C terms of the syllogism as they could. The number of possible relationships, and the time it took to decide if other relationships were possible, did not differ among the noncollege groups. The results indicated, however, that the correlates of reasoning proficiency differed for those subjects younger and those older than about age 13. INTRODUCTION Reasoning with categorical syllogisms is regarded as a skill central to thinking and intelligence (e.g.

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Experimenting with the mind : readings in cognitive psychology

Acquistion of knowledge: Sensory register and attention Visual perception Episodic memories. Repr... more Acquistion of knowledge: Sensory register and attention Visual perception Episodic memories. Representation of knowledge: Organization and priming of knowledge Concepts and imagery. Higher-order processing of knowledge: Language and comprehension Reasoning and judgment Problem-solving. Everyday cognitive experiences: Everyday memory and decision-making Group and individual differences in cognition.

Origins and Mind: An Integrated Academic Experience for New Students

Liberal …, 2000

EJ605182 - Origins and Mind: An Integrated Academic Experience for New Students.

Recent views of conceptual structure

This article reviews theories of concept structure proposed since the mid-1970s, when the discove... more This article reviews theories of concept structure proposed since the mid-1970s, when the discovery of typicality effects led to the rejection of the view that instances of a concept share necessary and sufficient attributes. To replace that classical view, psychologists proposed the family resemblance and exemplar views (and hybrids of the 2), which argue that instances of a concept share a certain level of overall similarity, rather than necessary and sufficient attributes. These similaritybased views account for much of the typicality data but fail to provide an adequate explanation of the coherence of conceptual categories and of various context effects. Recently proposed explanation-based accounts address these issues but raise further questions about the distinction between concept-specific information and general knowledge and about the relationship between conceptual knowledge and various forms of inference.

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Recent views of conceptual structure

Psychological Bulletin, 1992

This article reviews theories of concept structure proposed since the mid-1970s, when the discove... more This article reviews theories of concept structure proposed since the mid-1970s, when the discovery of typicality effects led to the rejection of the view that instances of a concept share necessary and sufficient attributes. To replace that classical view, psychologists proposed the family resemblance and exemplar views (and hybrids of the 2), which argue that instances of a concept share a certain level of overall similarity, rather than necessary and sufficient attributes. These similaritybased views account for much of the typicality data but fail to provide an adequate explanation of the coherence of conceptual categories and of various context effects. Recently proposed explanation-based accounts address these issues but raise further questions about the distinction between concept-specific information and general knowledge and about the relationship between conceptual knowledge and various forms of inference.

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Mapping Millikan's conceptual work onto (empirical) work by psychologists

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1998

Deconstructing the psychology of language. Book Reviews

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 1997

Correlates of syllogistic reasoning skills in middle childhood and early adolescence

by Lloyd Komatsu and Kathleen Galotti

Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 1988

Sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, and college students, were given a preliminary test of... more Sixth, eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders, and college students, were given a preliminary test of categorical syllogistic reasoning ability. In a subsequent session, subjects were given other categorical syllogisms and asked to depict as many of the possible relationships between the A, B, and C terms of the syllogism as they could. The number of possible relationships, and the time it took to decide if other relationships were possible, did not differ among the noncollege groups. The results indicated, however, that the correlates of reasoning proficiency differed for those subjects younger and those older than about age 13.

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Defining features of natural kinds and artifacts

Journal of Psycholinguistic Research, 1989

Two experiments investigated the role of three types of features (physical characteristics, funct... more Two experiments investigated the role of three types of features (physical characteristics, functions, and chromosomal~molecular structure) in determining membership in natural kind and artifact categories. In the first, subjects decided if an object ' 'X'" would still be an "X" if it were different in one type of feature. A significant interaction was found between word type and change type, with the effects of chromosomal~molecular changes significantly greater for natural kinds than for artifacts, and the effects of functional changes significantly greater for artifacts than natural kinds. In the second experiment, subjects judged whether something would be an "'X'" if it were unlike instances of "X" in two of the above types of features, but like instances of "X" in one. There was again a significant interaction, with the effects of chromosomal~molecular features significantly greater for natural kinds than for artifacts, and the effects of functional changes significantly greater for artifacts than for natural kinds. These results suggest that chromosomal~molecular features define membership in natural kind categories and functional features define membership in artifact categories. The implications of these findings for the meaning of "defining features" are also discussed.

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Children's differential performance on deductive and inductive syllogisms

by Lloyd Komatsu and Kathleen Galotti

Developmental Psychology, 1997

At what age and in what ways do children distinguish deductive and inductive problems? In Experim... more At what age and in what ways do children distinguish deductive and inductive problems? In Experiment 1, students from kindergarten and from Grades % 4, and 6 were presented with deductive or inductive inference problems and asked to draw an inference and rate their confidence. By 4th grade, confidence ratings for deductive problems were higher than those for inductive problems, and responses were faster for deductive than for inductive items. In Experiment 2, students from Grades 2, 3, 4, and 5 responded to the same problems used in Experiment I but were asked to provide explanations for their responses. Again, confidence was higher with deductive than with inductive problems, and latency to respond was faster for deductive than for inductive items. Further, explanations differed as a function of the type of problem. These findings help fill in gaps in the emerging picture of the development of children's reasoning skills.

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Children's Reasoning about Social, Physical, and Logical Regularities: A Look at Two Worlds

by Lloyd Komatsu and Kathleen Galotti

Child Development, 1986

In 2 studies, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children were interviewed about 3 different types of regula... more In 2 studies, 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children were interviewed about 3 different types of regularities or rules: social conventions, physical laws, and logical necessities. In the first study, children were asked if regularities could be changed (by consensus) and/or be different in another world. In the second study, children were asked if regularities could be different in another country (on Earth) or on a different planet. Results showed that social regularities were distinguished from the other types, but physical and logical regularities were treated similarly. While the evidence for age differences was equivocal, it was clear that even first graders did not judge physical items as alterable on Earth. This fails to replicate a previously reported finding that children pass through a stage where all items are seen as alterable. Finally, a sex difference emerged, with boys more willing to judge physical and logical regularities to be alterable in another world.

Why study deduction?

by Lloyd Komatsu and Kathleen Galotti

Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 1993

Book Review: The Development of Cognitive Anthropology

Applied Cognitive Psychology, 1996

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