title: [A test of the focusing hypothesis for category judgment: an explanation using the mental-box model].
abstract: This paper presents a new model of category judgment. The model hypothesizes that, when more attention is focused on a category, the psychological range of the category gets narrower (category-focusing hypothesis). We explain this hypothesis by using the metaphor of a "mental-box" model: the more attention that is focused on a mental box (i.e., a category set), the smaller the size of the box becomes (i.e., a cardinal number of the category set). The hypothesis was tested in an experiment (N = 40), where the focus of attention on prescribed verbal categories was manipulated. The obtained data gave support to the hypothesis: category-focusing effects were found in three experimental tasks (regarding the category of "food", "height", and "income"). The validity of the hypothesis was discussed based on the results.
authors: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Ehime University, Bunkyo-cho, Matsuyama 790-8577, Japan. hatori@cee.ehime-u.ac.jp
authors: Tsuyoshi
authors: T
authors: Hatori
authors: Kazuhisa
authors: K
authors: Takemura
authors: Satoshi
authors: S
authors: Fujii
authors: Takashi
authors: T
authors: Ideno
mesh_terms: D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult