Prototypes
Most people have a mental prototype, or mental example of a concept. For example, when referring to the concept of "transportation" you might think of a car, bus, truck, or train, but not typically of a skateboard or a pogo stick. Once the prototype for a concept is found, compare new objects and experiences with that prototype. Objects or events similar to the prototype are readily accepted as instances of the concept. Objects and events that are different are often rejected as instances of the concept when, in fact, they are.
Read more about this topic: Organizing Knowledge Cognitively
Famous quotes containing the word prototypes:
“As our domestic fowls are said to have their original in the wild pheasant of India, so our domestic thoughts have their prototypes in the thoughts of her philosophers.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)