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Thematic relations affect similarity via commonalities

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Golonka, Sabrina and Estes, Zachary, 1973-. (2009) Thematic relations affect similarity via commonalities. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, Vol.35 (No.6). pp. 1454-1464. ISSN 0278-7393

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Abstract

Thematic relations are an important source of perceived similarity. For instance, the rowing theme of boats and oars increases their perceived similarity. The mechanism of this effect, however, has not been specified previously. We investigated whether thematic relations affect similarity by increasing commonalities or by decreasing differences. In Experiment 1, thematic relations affected similarity more than difference, thereby producing a non-inversion of similarity and difference. Experiment 2 revealed substantial individual variability in the preference for thematic relations and, consequently in the non-inversion of ratings. In sum, the experiments demonstrated a non-inversion of similarity and difference that was caused by thematic relations and exhibited primarily by a subgroup of participants. These results indicate that thematic relations affect perceived similarity by increasing the contribution of commonalities rather than by decreasing the contribution of differences.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Similarity (Psychology), Categorization (Psychology), Paired-association learning
Journal or Publication Title:	Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
Publisher:	American Psychological Association
ISSN:	0278-7393
Date:	November 2009
Volume:	Vol.35
Number:	No.6
Page Range:	pp. 1454-1464
Identification Number:	10.1037/a0017397
Status:	Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/666