• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-257
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• 2014

Category-based induction is one of major inferential reasoning methods used by humans. This research tested the effect of perceived within-category variability on the inductive generalization. Experiment 1 manipulated variability by directly presenting category exemplars. After displaying low variable (low variability condition) or highly variable exemplars (high variability condition) depending on condition, participants performed inductive generalization task about a category in question. The results showed that participants have greater confidence in generalization when category variability was low than when it was high. Rather than directly presenting category exemplars in Experiment 2, participants performed induction task after they formed category variability impression by categorization task of identifying category exemplars. Experiment 2 also found the tendency that participants have greater inductive confidence when category variability was low. The variability effect discovered in this research is distinct from the diversity effect in previous research and the category-based induction model proposed by Osherson et al. (1990) cannot fully account for the variability effect in this research. Test of variability effect in category-based induction is discussed in the general discussion section.

• Korean Journal of Cognitive Science
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.135-154
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to confirm that the property generalization to social categories with low coherence is stronger when stress due to COVID-19 is perceived as high, compared to when stress is perceived as low. To this end, this study selected categories with high coherence(nun, soldier, flight attendant) and categories with low coherence(wedding planner, interpreter, florist), and recruited 336 participants to perform a category-based inductive generalization task(inferring how many properties repeatedly observed by some category members would appear across all category members), and measured their perceived COVID-19 stress. As a result, this study showed that when the cohesion of social categories is high, the effect of property generalization is stronger than when it is low, and the effect of property generalization is stronger in those who perceive stress due to Corona 19 higher than those who perceive it as low. In addition, this study confirmed that people who perceive COVID-19 stress strongly tend to generalize strongly to properties that are repeatedly observed in the low coherence category. This study is important in that it shows that there is a cognitive mechanism that is at the root of the phenomenon that stereotypes and prejudices deepen and discriminatory behaviors increase after the outbreak of COVID-19, such as COVID-19 stress and the resulting increase in attribute generalization tendency.