Sources of typicality effects

Lakoff argues that typicality effects can arise in a range of ways from a number of different sources. In this section, we present some of the ICMs proposed by Lakoff, and show how these are argued to give rise to typicality effects.

The simplest type of typicality effects

 Typicality effects can arise due to mismatches between ICMs against which particular concepts are understood. To illustrate, consider the ICM to which the concept BACHELOR relates. This ICM is likely to include information relating to a monogamous society, the institution of marriage and a standard mar riageable age. It is with respect to this ICM, Lakoff argues, that the notion of BACHELOR is understood. Furthermore, because the background frame defined by an ICM is idealised, it may only partially match up with other cognitive models, and this is what gives rise to typicality effects. Consider the Pope, who is judged to be a poor example of the category BACHELOR. An individual’s status as a bachelor is an ‘all or nothing’ affair, because this notion is understood with respect to the legal institution of MARRIAGE: the moment the marriage vows have been taken, a bachelor ceases to be a bachelor. The concept POPE, on the other hand, is primarily understood with respect to the ICM of the CATHOLIC CHURCH whose clergy are unable to marry. Clearly, there is a mismatch between these two cognitive models: in the ICM against which BACHELOR is understood, the Pope is ‘strictly speaking’ a bachelor because he is unmarried. However, the Pope is not a prototypical bachelor precisely because the Pope is understood with respect to a CATHOLIC CHURCH ICM in which marriage of Catholic clergy is prohibited.

Typicality effects due to cluster models

 According to Lakoff, there is a second way in which typicality effects can arise. This relates to cluster models, which are models consisting of a number of converging ICMs. The converging models collectively give rise to a complex cluster, which ‘is psychologically more complex than the models taken individually’ (Lakoff 1987: 74). Lakoff illustrates this type of cognitive model with the example of the category MOTHER, which he suggests is structured by a cluster model consisting of a number of different MOTHER subcategories. These are listed below.

1. THEBIRTHMODEL: a mother is the person who gives birth to the child.

2. THE GENETIC MODEL: a mother is the person who provides the genetic material for the child. 3. THE NURTURANCE MODEL: a mother is the person who brings up and looks after the child.

4. THE MARITAL MODEL: a mother is married to the child’s father.

5. THE GENEALOGICAL MODEL: a mother is a particular female ancestor.

 While the category MOTHER is a composite of these distinct sub-models, Lakoff argues that we can, and often do, invoke the individual models that contribute to the larger cluster model. The following examples reveal that we can employ different models for MOTHER in stipulating what counts as a ‘real mother’ (Lakoff 1987: 75)

Lakoffargues that cluster models give rise to typicality effects when one of the ICMs that contributes to the cluster is viewed as primary. This results in the other subcategories being ranked as less important: ‘When the cluster of models that jointly characterize a concept diverge, there is still a strong pull to view one as the most important’ (Lakoff 1987: 75). This is reflected in dictionary definitions, for example, which often privilege one of the MOTHER sub-models over the others. Although many dictionaries treat the BIRTH MODEL as primary, Lakoff found that Funk and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary selected the NURTURANCE MODEL while the American College Dictionary chose the GENEALOGICAL MODEL.

 Typicality effects due to metonymy

 Lakoffargues that a third kind of typicality effect arises when an exemplar (an individual instance) stands for an entire category. The phenomenon whereby one conceptual entity stands for another is called metonymy and is explored in much more detail in the next chapter. To illustrate metonymy consider example (2):

(2) Downing Street refused comment.

In this example, the official residence of the British Prime Minister stands for the Prime Minister. In other words, it is the Prime Minister (or his or her press officer) who refuses to comment. Similarly, in example (3) it is the vehicle owner who is standing for the car.

(3) I’m parked out the back.

 A metonymic ICM can be a subcategory, as in the case of one of the subcategories of a cluster model, or an individual member of a category that comes to stand for the category as a whole. An important consequence of this is that the metonymic model, by standing for the whole category, serves as a cognitive reference point, setting up norms and expectations against which other members of the category are evaluated and assessed. It follows that metonymic ICMs give rise to typicality effects, as other members of the category are judged as atypical relative to the metonymic model.

An example of a metonymic ICM is the cultural stereotype HOUSEWIFE MOTHER, in which a married woman does not have paid work but stays at home and looks after the house and family. The HOUSEWIFE-MOTHER stereotype can give rise to typicality effects when it stands for, or represents, the category MOTHER as a whole. Typicality effects arise from resulting expectations associated with members of the category MOTHER. According to the HOUSEWIFE MOTHER stereotype, mothers nurture their children, and in order to do this they stay at home and take care of them. A WORKING MOTHER, by contrast, is not simply a mother who has a job, but also one who does not stay at home to look after her children. Hence the HOUSEWIFE-MOTHER model, by metonymically representing the category MOTHER as a whole, serves in part to define other instances of the category such as WORKING MOTHER, which thus emerges as a non-prototypical member of the category.

 Lakoff proposes a number of different kinds of metonymic models, any of which can in principle serve as a cognitive reference point and can thus give rise to typicality effects. We briefly outline some of these below.

 Social stereotypes

 The HOUSEWIFE-MOTHER model is an example of a social stereotype. These are conscious ICMs which emerge from public discussion. Against this back ground, we can re-evaluate the category BACHELOR. The stereotypical bache lor in our culture is a womaniser who lacks domestic skills. Typicality effects can arise if a particular bachelor contrasts with this stereotype. For instance, an unmarried man with one partner who enjoys staying at home cooking and takes pride in his housework may be judged atypical with respect to the social stereotype for bachelors. This shows how the social stereotype BACHE LOR, which represents one element in the category BACHELOR, can stand for the category as a whole thus giving rise to typicality effects.

Typical examples

Typicality effects can also arise in relation to typical examples of a particular category. For instance, in some cultures ROBIN and SPARROW are typical members of the category BIRD. This is because in some parts of the world these birds are very common. In this respect, our environment has consequences for what we judge as good examples of a category. Furthermore, Lakoff argues that we may evaluate a member of the category bird with respect to a typical example. In this way, typicality effects arise when the typical example stands for the entire category.

Ideals Lakoff suggests that some categories are understood in terms of ideals, which may contrast with typical or stereotypical instances. For example, we might have an ideal for the category POLITICIAN: someone who is public-spirited, altruistic, hardworking and so on. This may contrast with our stereotype of politicians as egotistical, power-hungry and obsessed with ‘spin’. Once more, typicality effects occur when the ideal stands metonymically for the entire category. For instance, with respect to our ideal the utterance He’s a great politician might be interpreted as a positive evaluation. However, with respect to our social stereo type, the same utterance would be interpreted as a negative evaluation.

 Paragons

Individual category members that represent ideals are paragons. For instance, David Beckham, arguably the world’s best-known soccer star, is good-looking, a committed father, glamorous, married to a pop star and captain of the England team, as well as being one of the world’s most successful footballers. For many people around the world, Beckham represents a FOOTBALL paragon. Similarly, Rolls-Royce represents a paragon in terms of LUXURY CARS, Nelson Mandela represents a paragon in terms of POLITICAL LEADERS, Winston Churchill in terms of WAR LEADERS, Noam Chomsky in terms of GENERATIVE LINGUISTS, and so on. Because paragons stand for an entire category, they set up norms and expectations against which other members of the category may be evaluated. For instance, the comment, ‘He’s no Nelson Mandela’ about a particular political leader may represent a negative assessment as to the leader’s altruism and so forth. In this way, paragons give rise to typicality effects.

Generators

According to Lakoff, members of some categories are ‘generated’ by a core subset of category members called generators. These generators are judged to be more prototypical than the other category members that they generate. For example, the natural numbers are represented by the set of integers between zero and nine, which are combined in various ways in order to produce higher natural numbers. For instance, the number 10 combines the integers 1 and 0. Thus the entire category NATURAL NUMBERS is generated from a small subset of single-digit integers. Lakoff argues that this is why the numbers 1 to 9 are judged as prototypical members of the category NATURAL NUMBERS than much larger numbers. Another example of a set of generators is Morse Code. In this system the generators are the ‘dot’ and the ‘dash’. While the ‘dot’ represents the letter ‘E’, the ‘dash’ rep resents the letter ‘T’. Because all other letters represent combinations of dots and/or dashes, the ‘letters’ ‘E’ and ‘T’ are likely to be more prototypical than the others for regular Morse Code users.

Salient examples

 Finally, memorable or salient examples can also give rise to a type of metonymic ICM. For instance, Oxford University is a salient example of a university, in part due to its history (it received its royal charter in the thirteenth century), in part due to the esteem in which its teaching and scholarship have traditionally been held and in part due to the nature of the colleges that make up the university, both in terms of the structure of the institution and its architecture. Although in many ways atypical in terms of British and other international higher education institutions, people, particularly in the United Kingdom, often rely upon Oxford as a point of comparison for other universi ties. Typicality effects occur when Oxford serves to establish a means of evaluating and assessing another university.

In other words, salient examples, like prototypes in general, provide cognitive reference points that not only structure a category metonymically, but can influence the decisions we make, for instance whether we decide to go to a particular university based on how similar it is to a salient example like Oxford. Table 8.10 provides a summary of some of the types of metonymic ICMs proposed by Lakoff.

 In sum, Lakoff argues that cluster models and metonymic ICMs can give rise to typicality effects in different ways. While the cluster model provides a con verging cluster of cognitive models which gives rise to typicality effects by ranking one of the subcategories as more important than the others in the cluster, a metonymic model can stand for the category as a whole and gives rise to typicality effects by defining cultural expectations relating to this category.

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مواضيع ذات صلة

The theory of idealised cognitive models

Problems with prototype theory

The horizontal dimension

The vertical dimension

The categorisation system

Principles of categorization

Prototype theory

The problem of prototypicality

The problem of conceptual fuzziness

The definitional problem

The classical theory

Categorisation and cognitive semantics