The role of explanatory connections in conceptual coherence and product typicality.
Kenneth Gray · Deep Blue (University of Michigan) · 1993
Two experiments demonstrated that explanatory connections can determine conceptual coherence for novel categories. Explanatory connections are based on common abstract memory structures like goals and causes that have been shown to be central to much of cognition. Novel combination categories (e.g., a combination bookbag-suitcase) were made coherent by presenting stories that contained explantory connections to subjects. In Experiment 1, direct judgments of coherence and stability of typicality rankings were used to indicate conceptual coherence. Explanatory connections were shown to increase both direct judgments and stability of typicality. Non-explanatory information did not increase stability of typicality, but did increase direct judgments of coherence. In addition, the two measures were significantly correlated with each other. Experiment 2 demonstrated the effects of explanatory connections on typicality ratings of objects as members of both constituents and the combination categories. For example, an object was described as a hammer with a radio in the handle. Subjects judged the typicality of the object as a hammer, as a radio, and as a hammer-radio both before and after reading explanation stories. Explanatory connections had effects on all typicality judgments. In particular, stories that did not contain explanatory connections increased typicality judgments less than stories that did contain explanatory connections.