1 Psychology and human development1.6 Thought and higher cortical functions
1.6.1 Concepts and dual-process reasoning
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Written by Resident Doctor Committee · Published
New in the 2027 syllabus
The College added this topic for exams from January 2027.
Representing categories
A concept is how the mind holds a category, such as "bird".
A prototype represents a typical member of the category.
A conceptual core is the set of properties treated as defining who belongs.
An exemplar account holds a category as remembered examples, not as one single average prototype.
How typical something is and whether it belongs are separate questions. A penguin is an atypical bird, but it is not a marginal member of the category.
Two kinds of processing
Processing | Features | Limitation |
|---|---|---|
Type 1 | Fast and automatic, with little demand on working memory | Can apply a familiar response where it does not fit |
Type 2 | Slow and deliberate, limited in capacity, and able to weigh alternatives | Can fail when overloaded, or simply justify the first answer |
Dual-process theories describe two forms of processing, not two separate anatomical brain systems.
Heuristics are mental shortcuts, and they can be useful. Automatic reasoning is not always wrong, and deliberate reasoning is not always correct.