abstraction
Supposed process of forming an idea by abstracting out what is common to a variety of instances: a process stressed, for example, by Aquinas in his moderate solution to the problem of universals ...
ACT*
(pronounced act-star).Adaptive Control of Thought, an advanced version of a network model of information processing first put forward in 1976 by the Canadian-born US psychologist John R(obert) ...
attribute
A characteristic of a product or service that can be measured by a rating having only two possible states, e.g. good or bad, acceptable or not acceptable, etc. Compare variable.
basic-level category
The level of specificity/generality of a concept within a conceptual hierarchy at which most people tend naturally to categorize it, usually neither the most specific nor the most general available ...
belief
Any proposition (1) that is accepted as true on the basis of inconclusive evidence. A belief is stronger than a baseless opinion but not as strong as an item of knowledge. More generally, belief is ...
componential theory
A theory of concepts, concept formation, and semantics according to which the meaning of a concept or a word can be understood by analysing it into its set of defining properties. The standard ...
concept formation
The process by which a concept is acquired or learnt, usually from exposure to examples of items that belong to the concept category and items that do not belong to it. In general, it involves ...
construct
(n.) A term used in behavioral sciences to describe a conceptual framework or theory, often called a social construct, based on observations, empirically verifiable facts or events.
content, non-conceptual
Theorists of non-conceptual mental content hold that some mental states can represent the world and be true or false even though the bearer of those mental states does not possess ...
exemplar
An instance or representative of a concept; more generally something to be copied or imitated. Compare prototype (2). [From Latin exemplarium a model, from exemplum an example]
family resemblance
The phenomenon stressed in his later work by Wittgenstein, that the objects denoted by a term may be tied together not by one common property, but by a network of resemblances, like the persons whose ...
feature
1 Any attribute of a sensory stimulus (1, 2, 3). A local feature is an attribute of part of the stimulus, and a global feature is an attribute of the stimulus as a whole. See also acoustic feature, ...
Gottlob Frege
(1848–1925)German mathematician, logician, and philosopher who laid the foundations for modern investigations into the philosophy of logic and language.Born in Wismar (now East Germany), the son of a ...
grand theory
Any theorizing involving a general explanation of society or human experience rather than the study of particular societies or experiences. Often used pejoratively within empiricist perspectives.
hypothesis
A statement of the expected relationship between things being studied, which is intended to explain certain facts or observations. An idea to be tested.
intuition
Immediate understanding, knowledge, or awareness, derived neither from perception nor from reasoning. Immediate knowledge of a concept exists when a person can apply the concept correctly but cannot ...
Jean Piaget
(1896–1980)Swiss psychologist noted for his studies of thought processes in children and widely regarded as one of the most important psychologists of the twentieth century. His descriptions of the ...
levels of processing
The depth with which incoming information is analysed and encoded, ranging from superficial processing of sensory features (1) to semantic and conceptual processing, with deeper levels of processing ...
lifeworld
The taken-for-granted dynamic of everyday experience that largely happens automatically, without conscious attention or deliberate plan (Seamon in T. Mels, ed. 2004).
mismatch
An incorrect pairing of a word and a concept, usually by a child during the course of language development, as when a child calls a toy drum a car. It is seldom possible to trace the source of such ...
