exemplarentheorie

Exemplarentheorie, often translated as exemplar theory, is a model of categorization in cognitive psychology. It proposes that people categorize objects and concepts by comparing them to specific, stored examples or "exemplars" of those categories. Instead of relying on abstract rules or defining features, the theory suggests that our mental representation of a category is a collection of individual instances encountered in the past.

When presented with a new item, an individual accesses their stored exemplars for a given category. If the new item is sufficiently similar to a sufficient number of these stored exemplars, it is classified as belonging to that category. The more similar the new item is to a typical or frequently encountered exemplar, the faster and more confidently it will be categorized. This contrasts with prototype theory, which posits that categories are represented by an abstract average or "prototype" of all members.

Exemplar theory is particularly adept at explaining phenomena such as the graded structure of categories, where some members are perceived as more typical than others. It can also account for how people categorize novel or unusual items, as long as they bear some resemblance to existing exemplars. The theory has implications for understanding learning, memory, and decision-making processes related to categorization.