Haley runs an experiment and finds that, when participants are shown a picture of a chair, they are faster to categorize it as a piece of furniture than they are when shown a cupboard. Based on this information, which of the following statements is correct?
A)
The experiment provides support for prototype theory, as most people are more frequently exposed to chairs than they are to cupboards, giving them many examples with which to compare the chair and, thus, faster categorization.
B)
The experiment provides support against geon theory, as both chairs and cupboards have a similar number of geons and should be categorized at similar rates.
C)
The experiment provides support for both template and prototype theories, as more frequent exposure to chairs than cupboards would lead to more templates with which to compare the chair and would make the prototype of the category furniture more closely resemble a chair.
D)
The experiment provides support for template theory, as more frequent exposure to chairs than cupboards should lead individuals to have a stronger template for chairs than for cupboards.
Answer: C