Abstract
Posner (1969) has reported studies using a continuous recognition task paradigm which he interprets as providing evidence that cognitive prototypes are extracted from sets of viewed patterns. An attempt to replicate and extend Posner’s findings was only partly successful and drew attention to possible alternative explanations for the large number of “false alarms” elicited by certain patterns. The similarity of a pattern to immediately preceding exemplars appears to play a crucial role in eliciting false alarms. Until studies are available which explicitly control for similarity, the interpretation of continuous recognition task results must remain uncertain.
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References
Posner, M. I. Abstraction and the process of recognition. Psychology of Learning & Motivation, 1969, 3, 43–100.
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We would like to thank Robert M. Krauss for his comments and suggestions on data analysis and Stephen Woods for sponsoring and taking editorial responsibility for the paper.
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Levy, A.S., Heshka, S. Similarity and the false recognition of prototypes. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 1, 181–183 (1973). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334334
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334334