کد مقاله | کد نشریه | سال انتشار | مقاله انگلیسی | نسخه تمام متن |
---|---|---|---|---|
957159 | 928512 | 2011 | 30 صفحه PDF | دانلود رایگان |
![عکس صفحه اول مقاله: Prior symmetry, similarity-based reasoning, and endogenous categorization Prior symmetry, similarity-based reasoning, and endogenous categorization](/preview/png/957159.png)
This paper presents a rational theory of categorization and similarity-based reasoning. I study a model of sequential learning in which the decision maker infers unknown properties of an object from information about other objects. The decision maker may use the following heuristics: divide objects into categories with similar properties and predict that a member of a category has a property if some other member of this category has this property. The environment is symmetric: the decision maker has no reason to believe that the objects and properties are a priori different. In symmetric environments, categorization is an optimal solution to an inductive inference problem. Any optimal solution looks as if the decision maker categorizes. Various experimental observations about similarity-based reasoning coincide with the optimal behavior in my model.
Journal: Journal of Economic Theory - Volume 146, Issue 1, January 2011, Pages 111–140