TROMLEY, CHERYL LYNN.

Prototype abstraction and specific representations were examined using
two acquisition procedures (paired-associate and concept formation) for
concept members generated by applying one of two distortion rules (form
preserving and form destroying) to eight-dot base patterns. One distortion
rule maximized the configurational similarity between concept
members and minimized their elemental similarity (form preserving).
The other maximized the elemental similarity between concept members and
minimized their configurational similarity (form destroying). Either
immediately following acquisition or after a two-week delay, subjects
were given a classification test which included the concept members
learned during acquisition and novel members of the concepts. Evidence
for prototype abstraction was found only for form preserving concepts.
This result was interpreted as evidence for the configurational nature
of a prototypical representation. Evidence for long-term retention of
specific representations was found only for form destroying concepts.
This result was explained by a model involving a network of partially
overlapping features.