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When the mind makes a generalization, it extracts the essence of a concept based on its analysis of similarities from many discrete objects. The resulting simplification enables higher-level thinking. An animal is a generalization of a mammal, a bird, a fish, an amphibian and a reptile.
Generalization allows humans and animals to recognize the similarities in knowledge acquired in one circumstance, allowing for transfer of knowledge onto new situations. This idea rivals the theory of situated cognition , instead stating that one can apply past knowledge to learning in new situations and environments.
Additionally, his animals failed to show generalization of the concept of reference between the modalities of comprehension and production; this generalization is one of many fundamental ones that are trivial for human language use.
In 2000, Ken Cheng from Macquarie University [5] experimented on the special generalization of honeybees, comparing his findings with earlier research on humans and pigeons. Cheng explained his understanding of Shepard’s law of generalization in this study as such: “Suppose that an animal finds food in a container at one location (S+).
This procedure plays an important role in commercial animal training. Shaping assists in "discrimination", which is the ability to tell the difference between stimuli that are and are not reinforced, and in "generalization", which is the application of a response learned in one situation to a different but similar situation. [6]
The four upper images of trees can be roughly quantified into an overall generalization of the idea of a tree, pictured in the lower image. A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. [1] Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition.
Concept learning, also known as category learning, concept attainment, and concept formation, is defined by Bruner, Goodnow, & Austin (1956) as "the search for and testing of attributes that can be used to distinguish exemplars from non exemplars of various categories".
Shaping is a conditioning method often used in animal training and in teaching nonverbal humans. It depends on operant variability and reinforcement, as described above. The trainer starts by identifying the desired final (or "target") behavior. Next, the trainer chooses a behavior that the animal or person already emits with some probability.