Predicting similarity and categorization from identification

Abstract

In this article, the relation between the identification, similarity judgment, and categorization of multidimensional perceptual stimuli is studied. The theoretical analysis focused on general recognition theory (GRT), which is a multidimensional generalization of signal detection theory. In one application, 2 Ss first identified a set of confusable stimuli and then made judgments of their pairwise similarity. The second application was to Nosofsky's (1985b, 1986) identification-categorization experiment. In both applications, a GRT model accounted for the identification data better than Luce's (1963) biased-choice model. The identification results were then used to predict performance in the similarity judgment and categorization conditions. The GRT identification model accurately predicted the similarity judgments under the assumption that Ss allocated attention to the 2 stimulus dimensions differently in the 2 tasks. The categorization data were predicted successfully without appealing to the notion of selective attention. Instead, a simpler GRT model that emphasized the different decision rules used in identification and categorization was adequate.