How analogies are generated: The roles of structural and superficial similarity (original) (raw)
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We propose to characterize structural similarity between source and target problems by the type and size of their structural overlap. Size of structural overlap is captured by a measure of graph-distance. We investigated the innuence of structural overlap on transfer success in analogical problem solving in two experiments. In both experiments, for a xed source problem one of ve target problems had to be solved. In the rst experiment, target problems varied in superrcial and structural similarity to the source. In the case of isomorphic source/target relations superrcial similarity had no impact on transfer success while for a partial isomorphic target solution success was only high if source and target had identical surface attributes. In the second experiment, surface of source and target were kept identical and different types of structural source/target relations were investigated: For problems with a high structural overlap source inclusive and target exhaustive source/target r...
Relations, Objects, and the Composition of Analogies
Cognitive Science, 2006
This research addresses the kinds of matching elements that determine analogical relatedness and literal similarity. Despite theoretical agreement on the importance of relational match, the empirical evidence is neither systematic nor definitive. In 3 studies, participants performed online evaluations of relatedness of sentence pairs that varied in either the object or relational match. Results show a consistent focus on relational matches as the main determinant of analogical acceptance. In addition, analogy does not require strict overall identity of relational concepts. Semantically overlapping but nonsynonymous relations were commonly accepted, but required more processing time. Finally, performance in a similarity rating task partly paralleled analogical acceptance; however, relatively more weight was given to object matches. Implications for psychological theories of analogy and similarity are addressed.
The Problem of Context for Similarity: An Insight from Analogical Cognition
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Similarity is central for the definition of concepts in several theories in cognitive psychology. However, similarity encounters several problems which were emphasized by Goodman in 1972. At the end of his article, Goodman banishes similarity from any serious philosophical or scientific investigations. If Goodman is right, theories of concepts based on similarity encounter a huge problem and should be revised entirely. In this paper, we would like to analyze the notion of similarity with some insight from psychological works on analogical cognition. Analogical cognition compares two situations or objects in order to find similarities between them. In doing so, the analogical process sorts the different features of the two situations or objects and determines the most important ones. The analogical process is also highly sensitive to context. Context-sensitivity is desirable at some level, but it is also problematic as it leads to a computational explosion. To answer this problem, we...
A Closer Look at Structural Similarity in Analogical Transfer
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We propose to characterize structural similarity between source and target problems by the type and size of their structural overlap. Size of structural overlap is cap-tured by a measure of graph-distance. We investigated the in uence of structural overlap on transfer success in ...
Structural constraints and object similarity in analogical mapping and inference
2004
Theories of analogical reasoning have viewed relational structure as the dominant determinant of analogical mapping and inference, while assigning lesser importance to similarity between individual objects. An experiment is reported in which these two sources of constraints on analogy are placed in competition under conditions of high relational complexity. Results demonstrate equal importance for relational structure and object similarity, both in analogical mapping and in inference generation.
A Closer Look at Structural Similarity in Analogical Transfer1
We propose to characterize structural similarity between source and target problemsby the type and size of their structural overlap. Size of structural overlap is capturedby a measure of graph-distance. We investigated the influence of structuraloverlap on transfer success in analogical problem solving in two experiments. Inboth experiments, for a fixed source problem one of five target problems had to besolved. In the first experiment, target problems varied in superficial and structural...
Challenging the superficial similarities superiority account for analogical retrieval
Cognitive Science, 2017
The predominant view concerning determinants of analogical retrieval is that it is preferentially guided by superficial cues. In order to test the cognitive plausibility of a structural similarities-based retrieval, we constructed a story-recall task in which life-like scenarios shared structural correspondences. In Experiment 1, we showed that such structural similarities induce retrievals when the participant had several source candidate situations sharing superficial similarities with the target cue. Experiment 2 was designed to test whether the encoding was sufficiently oriented on structural similarities to drive retrievals, even if the participants possess only one source candidate situation with superficial matches in memory. The results of the two present experiments lead us to conclude that in some contexts, abstract encoding induces a superiority of structural similarities over superficial ones in retrieval. Further implications for analogical retrieval approaches are disc...
Evidence for structural alignment during similarity judgments
Similarity plays a central role in cognitive theories. Research has demonstrated that the similarity of a pair increases with its commonalities and decreases with its differences. These common and distinctive elements can take the form of parts of objects, relations between parts of properties of whole objects. Previous work has been unable to reconcile this variety of information within a single framework. It is suggested that structural alignment, like that proposed to mediate analogical reasoning, provides a sufficiently powerful process for determining the commonalities and differences of complex representations. The main prediction of this approach is that similarity comparisons focus subjects on the global commonalities of a pair. A second prediction is that salient local similarities temper the preference for a global alignment. These hypotheses are tested in four experiments involving undergraduates and using the one-shot mapping technique, which places local and global similarities in opposition. Results support the predictions of the structural alignment view, and highlight the importance of the binding between relations and their arguments for similarity. Eleven figures and 8 tables illustrate the discussion, and 77 references are incl.ded. (Author/SLD) 14. SUBJECT TERMS 15. NUMBER OF PAGES Similarity, structural alignment, analogical mapping. 16, PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 19. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 20. LIMITATION OF ABSTRACT
2013
Analogy is a kind of similarity in which the same system of relations holds across different objects. Analogies thus capture parallels across different situations. When such a common structure is found, then what is known about one situation can be used to infer new information about the other. This chapter describes the processes involved in analogical reasoning, reviews foundational research and recent developments in the field, and proposes new avenues of investigation. analogy, mapping, inference, reasoning, relational structure, structural alignment, relational similarity, structure mapping, metaphor Analogical ability—the ability to perceive like relational structure across different contexts—is a core mechanism of human cognition. The ability to perceive and use purely relational similarity is a major contributor—arguably the major contributor—to our species ’ remarkable mental powers (Gentner,