Explain the relationship between concepts hierarchies and prototypes?

Answer 1

Concept, or category hierarchies are ways that humans organize ideas or perceptions into a compartmentalized web for easier access in thinking. For example, when people imagine a Labrador retriever, they are actually going through a process of tracing a category hierarchy. They start with animals, then move down to domesticated animals (because Labradors are not wild animals), and then they distinguish between cats and farm animals, and arrive at the dogs category. And with each concept or category, we have a mental image or typical example associated with the concept; this typical example is known as a prototype. When someone mentions a bird, people typically refer to their "bird prototype," which, in most cases, is a robin-like bird, and not an ostrich, emu, or penguin.

Answer 2

Concept hierarchies organize related concepts into a structured system, where more general concepts are at the top and become more specific as you move down. Prototypes are the best example or representation of a concept within a category in a hierarchy. They help people categorize new information by comparing it to the prototype in their minds.