Vocabulary

Basic-level category

The neutral, preferred category for a given object, at an intermediate level of specificity.

Category

A set of entities that are equivalent in some way. Usually the items are similar to one another.

Concept

The mental representation of a category.

Exemplar

An example in memory that is labeled as being in a particular category.

Psychological essentialism

The belief that members of a category have an unseen property that causes them to be in the category and to have the properties associated with it.

Typicality

The difference in “goodness” of category members, ranging from the most typical (the prototype) to borderline members.