In cognitive psychology, what is the relationship between prototypicality and reaction time when categorizing objects?

• A. Higher prototypicality is associated with faster reaction times.
• B. Higher prototypicality is associated with slower reaction times.
• C. Prototypicality has no effect on reaction time.
• D. Lower prototypicality is associated with faster reaction times.

Answer: (A)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Understand the concept of prototypicality: In cognitive psychology, prototypicality refers to how representative or typical an object is of a particular category. For example, a robin is a more prototypical bird than a penguin because it shares more common features with the category 'bird'.
2. Recognize the role of reaction time in categorization tasks: Reaction time measures how quickly a person can categorize or identify an object as belonging to a certain category. Faster reaction times indicate easier or more efficient categorization.
3. Explore the relationship between prototypicality and reaction time: Objects that are highly prototypical tend to be categorized more quickly because they closely match the mental representation or prototype of the category, making recognition easier.
4. Contrast with lower prototypicality: Objects that are less prototypical have fewer features in common with the category prototype, which can cause slower reaction times as the brain takes longer to process and decide on the category membership.
5. Summarize the relationship: Therefore, higher prototypicality is generally associated with faster reaction times when categorizing objects, reflecting more efficient cognitive processing for typical category members.