Synopses & Reviews
andlt;Pandgt;Concepts embody our knowledge of the kinds of things there are in the world. Tying our past experiences to our present interactions with the environment, they enable us to recognize and understand new objects and events. Concepts are also relevant to understanding domains such as social situations, personality types, and even artistic styles. Yet like other phenomenologically simple cognitive processes such as walking or understanding speech, concept formation and use are maddeningly complex.Research since the 1970s and the decline of the "classical view" of concepts have greatly illuminated the psychology of concepts. But persistent theoretical disputes have sometimes obscured this progress. The Big Book of Concepts goes beyond those disputes to reveal the advances that have been made, focusing on the major empirical discoveries. By reviewing and evaluating research on diverse topics such as category learning, word meaning, conceptual development in infants and children, and the basic level of categorization, the book develops a much broader range of criteria than is usual for evaluating theories of concepts.andlt;/Pandgt;
Review
This book is a landmark achievement in the cognitive science of human concepts. It beautifully integrates experimental data and theories to arrive at a rich account of how concepts are learned, represented, interrelated, used, combined, and changed. Arthur B. Markman, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austin
Review
"The study of concepts has flourished in recent years, and Murphy has been one of the leading figures behind several changes in how we view concepts, their mental representation, and their use. The Big Book of Concepts offers a superb discussion of recent research from a wide variety of perspectives. This book is essential reading not only for those interested in concepts directly but also for those interested in cognitive development, word meaning, and many other related areas of cognitive science."--Frank C. Keil, Professor, Department of Psychology, Yale University
Review
Murphy's well-written Big Book of Concepts provides a much-needed overview of the rapidly developing field of concept learning and use. This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the theories and empirical studies that will provide the foundation for new research for decades to come. The MIT Press
Review
"This is going to be the classic text in the field for a very long time." Nature The MIT Press
Review
"We've needed a book like this for the past decade. The Big Book of Concepts is beautifully done in so many ways and a true service to the field. Murphy's ambitious and integrated review is unusually thorough, thoughtful, and fair in its coverage of the diverse literatures on concepts. Graduate students will remember this volume the rest of their careers for what it taught them, and seasoned researchers will use it as the authoritative source to fill holes in their knowledge." -- Lawrence W. Barsalou, Department of Psychology, Emory University The MIT Press
Review
"This is a fascinating book. It explores the ability of PDP models to simulate many behavioral phenomena thought to arise from properties of semantic and conceptual structure. These phenomena include: differentiation of taxonomic structures in development, the basic level of categorization, conceptual coherence, illusory correlations, inductive projection, conceptual change, domain specificity, and the influences of causal knowledge and intuitive theories. The book also represents an important advance in PDP modeling by illustrating how a non-propositional system, governed by gradual learning principles, attempts to capture many phenomena that have been argued to defy principles of associative learning. Both fans and foes of PDP approaches will want to study this ambitious and innovative application of connectionist learning models."--Frank C. Keil, Professor, Department of Psychology, Yale UniversityPlease note: The third sentence may be omitted for space reasons.
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"Murphy's well-written Big Book of Concepts provides a much-needed overview of the rapidly developing field of concept learning and use. This book should be read by anyone who wants to understand the theories and empirical studies that will provide the foundation for new research for decades to come." Arthur B. Markman, Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Austinandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"This book is a landmark achievement in the cognitive science of human concepts. It beautifully integrates experimental data and theories to arrive at a rich account of how concepts are learned, represented, interrelated, used, combined, and changed." andlt;Bandgt;Robert Goldstone andlt;/Bandgt;, Professor of Psychology, Program in Cognitive Science, Indiana Universityandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Review
andlt;Pandgt;"This is going to be the classic text in the field for a very long time." Natureandlt;/Pandgt; The MIT Press
Synopsis
Concepts embody our knowledge of the kinds of things there are in the world. Tying our past experiences to our present interactions with the environment, they enable us to recognize and understand new objects and events. Concepts are also relevant to understanding domains such as social situations, personality types, and even artistic styles. Yet like other phenomenologically simple cognitive processes such as walking or understanding speech, concept formation and use are maddeningly complex.
Research since the 1970s and the decline of the "classical view" of concepts have greatly illuminated the psychology of concepts. But persistent theoretical disputes have sometimes obscured this progress. The Big Book of Concepts goes beyond those disputes to reveal the advances that have been made, focusing on the major empirical discoveries. By reviewing and evaluating research on diverse topics such as category learning, word meaning, conceptual development in infants and children, and the basic level of categorization, the book develops a much broader range of criteria than is usual for evaluating theories of concepts.
Synopsis
A comprehensive introduction to current research on the psychology of concept formation and use.
Synopsis
Concepts embody our knowledge of the kinds of things there are in the world. Tying our past experiences to our present interactions with the environment, they enable us to recognize and understand new objects and events. Concepts are also relevant to understanding domains such as social situations, personality types, and even artistic styles. Yet like other phenomenologically simple cognitive processes such as walking or understanding speech, concept formation and use are maddeningly complex.
About the Author
Gregory L. Murphy is Professor of Psychology at New York University.