Undergraduate Honors Theses

Date of Award

Winter 4-10-2020

Program

Psychology

Supervisor

Dr. John Paul Minda

Abstract

The present study investigated the effects of how verbalizable features (easy vs not-easily) are on category learning strategies with respect to the COVIS model, which states there are two competing systems (verbal and implicit) that operate simultaneously when making categorization decisions. A total of 102 undergraduate students took part in the experiment, which was an A-B categorization task conducted in a video game setting. A rule-based approach reflected the verbal system whereas a family resemblance approach reflected the implicit system. The findings partially support the hypothesis and COVIS model in that participants in the easily verbalizable condition were more likely to use a rule-based approach, but no clear evidence was found to support the notion that participants would be more likely to use a family resemblance approach if the features were difficult to verbalize.

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