When asked to draw a picture of a bird, Jason draws a picture of an animal with wings, two legs, a beak, and two eyes perched on a branch. It is not a specific kind of bird, but rather an average blend of what he thinks about when he hears the word “bird.” Jason has drawn a:
Explanation
Answer: B - By drawing an average blend of what he thinks about when he hears the word “bird,” Jason has drawn a prototype.
Cognitive psychologists understand that humans categorize their world in order to make sense of it. A concept is a specific representation of a category. You do not have one concept for bird, you likely have many: penguin, robin, sparrow, etc. In thinking about these concepts, you can picture the specific characteristics that make each bird concept unique. A category is a cluster of interrelated concepts. You know that penguin, robin, and sparrow all belong to the category of bird. Finally, a prototype is a mental representation of an average member of a category. In the above question, Jason drew the basic parts of a bird (e.g., wings, beak, legs, eyes), but did not draw a specific species of bird. However, his drawing represented an average bird, not a concept of a bird.
