Access and inference in categorization

Abstract

This paper contains the remarks of the discussant in the symposium on social cognition held at the Annual Meeting of the Psychonomic Society in November 1989. Although much work in cognitive psychology and social cognition addresses categorization, these two areas of work currently exhibit little overlap. Whereas cognitive psychologists focus primarily on how people access categories, social cognitive psychologists focus primarily on how people draw inferences from categories. Cognitive psychologists have little to say about inference, often seeming to view categorization as an end in itself. Social cognitive psychologists typically ignore how people access categories for individuals, behaviors, and situations. Because access and inference are both intrinsic parts of categorization, complete theories of categorization must address both in a balanced and integrated manner. © 1990, The Psychonomic Society, Inc.. All rights reserved.