Consistent contrast aids concept learning

Abstract

We suggest that coherence among concepts and correspondence between concepts and the world are important in concept learning. We identify one aspect of coherence, consistent contrast, and investigate its role in supervised concept learning. Concepts that contrast consistently carry information about the same attributes across the concepts within a contrast set. Concepts that contrast inconsistently predict and are predicted by values of different attributes. Experiment 1 revealed a large advantage for consistent contrast in learning and generalization. Experiment 2 pitted similarity against consistency and still revealed an advantage of consistency. Experiment 2 also broadened the range of tasks considered to include inductions about novel categories and subjects' category descriptions. We discuss relations to theories of concept learning, to attentional mechanism, and to alignability, and we suggest practical implications.