Editing Cognitive categorization (section)

===Prototype theory===
{{main|Prototype theory}}
The pioneering research by psychologist [[Eleanor Rosch]] and colleagues since 1973, introduced the [[prototype theory]], according to which categorization can also be viewed as the process of grouping things based on [[prototype]]s. This approach has been highly influential, particularly for [[cognitive linguistics]].<ref name="Croft2004ch4"/> It was in part based on previous insights, in particular the formulation of a category model based on [[family resemblance]] by [[Wittgenstein]] (1953), and by [[Roger Brown (psychologist)|Roger Brown]]'s ''How shall a thing be called?'' (1958).<ref name="Croft2004ch4"/>

Prototype theory has been then adopted by cognitive linguists like [[George Lakoff]]. The prototype theory is an example of a similarity-based approach to categorization, in which a stored category representation is used to assess the similarity of candidate category members.<ref name=":6">{{Cite journal |last=Reed |first=Stephen K. |date=1972-07-01 |title=Pattern recognition and categorization |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285%2872%2990014-X |journal=Cognitive Psychology |language=en |volume=3 |issue=3 |pages=382–407 |doi=10.1016/0010-0285(72)90014-X |issn=0010-0285|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Under the prototype theory, this stored representation consists of a summary representation of the category's members. This prototype stimulus can take various forms. It might be a central tendency that represents the category's average member, a modal stimulus representing either the most frequent instance or a stimulus composed of the most common category features, or, lastly, the "ideal" category member, or a caricature that emphasizes the distinct features of the category.<ref name="Kruschke, J. K. 2008">{{Citation |last=Kruschke |first=John K. |title=Models of Categorization |work=The Cambridge Handbook of Computational Psychology |pages=267–301 |year=2008 |editor-last=Sun |editor-first=Ron |series=Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology |place=Cambridge |publisher=Cambridge University Press |doi=10.1017/cbo9780511816772.013 |isbn=978-0-521-85741-3 |author-link=John K. Kruschke|doi-access=free }}</ref> An important consideration of this prototype representation is that it does not necessarily reflect the existence of an actual instance of the category in the world.<ref name="Kruschke, J. K. 2008"/> Furthermore, prototypes are highly sensitive to context.<ref>Rosch, E. (1999). Reclaiming concepts. Journal of consciousness studies, 6(11-12), 61-77.</ref> For example, while one's prototype for the category of beverages may be soda or seltzer, the context of brunch might lead them to select mimosa as a prototypical beverage.

The prototype theory claims that members of a given category share a [[family resemblance]], and categories are defined by sets of typical features (as opposed to all members possessing necessary and sufficient features).<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Rosch |first1=Eleanor |last2=Mervis |first2=Carolyn B |date=1975-10-01 |title=Family resemblances: Studies in the internal structure of categories |url=https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/0010-0285%2875%2990024-9 |journal=Cognitive Psychology |language=en |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=573–605 |doi=10.1016/0010-0285(75)90024-9 |s2cid=17258322 |issn=0010-0285|url-access=subscription }}</ref>