The Competition‐among‐relations‐in‐nominals Theory of Conceptual Combination: Implications for Stimulus Class Formation and Class Expansion

Abstract

One way in which new concepts are added to the conceptual system is through conceptual combination. The competition-among-relations-in-nominals (CARIN) theory (Gagné & Shoben, 1997) proposes that conceptual combination involves specifying a thematic relation (e.g., noun MADE OF modifier) to link the constituent concepts (e.g., chocolate and bee). This theory claims that relations have different strengths for various concepts that correspond to how often a modifier and relation have been paired in previous encounters with combined concepts and that this relational knowledge strongly affects the ease with which combined concepts can be formed. A mathematical model that incorporates key claims of the theory is presented, and empirical findings that are relevant to evaluating the CARIN theory are reviewed. The parallels between the CARIN theory and approaches to stimulus class formation are also discussed.

Conceptual combination in schizophrenia: Contrasting property and relational interpretations

“…Such a conclusion is consistent with other work on conceptual combination in normals. A number of studies support the notion that conceptual combination is governed by at least two independent processes that proceed in parallel (Estes, 2003;Wisniewski, 1997;Wisniewski & Love, 1998), although some models propose one cognitive mechanism for the full range of combination interpretations (Gagne, 2002a;Gagne & Shoben, 2002). Support for multiple processes in conceptual combination is also found in a recent electrophysiological study (Kounios et al, 2003), although the kinds of combinations and interpretations studied do not perfectly map onto the property and relational interpretation distinction made here.…”

“…Novel conceptual combinations are ubiquitous in language, and they normally elicit consistent and plausible interpretations, despite the fact that they afford several plausible (and implausible) interpretations. How this process is normally accomplished has been widely studied (Bock & Clifton Jr., 2000;Costello & Keane, 2001;Gagne, 2002a;Medin & Rips, 2005;Medin & Shoben, 1988;Murphy, 2002;Wisniewski & Murphy, 2005) and can increase our understanding of the nature of semantic deficits observed in individuals diagnosed with SZ.…”

Equivalence Relations, Contextual Control, and Naming

“…Complementing such findings, other researchers have suggested that adult participants' preexisting verbal repertoires can be used to provide an alternative means of investigating higher-order human behavior (e.g., Gagné, 2002). In accordance with this perspective, research already has shown that the emotionally charged, fear-related, and sexually explicit meanings of stimulus words can significantly affect the formation of equivalence classes (Plaud, 1995;Plaud, Gaither, Franklin, Weller, & Barth, 1998; and that preexisting verbal relations also can affect the formation of equivalence relations involving Protestant and Catholic names among Irish participants (Roche, Barnes-Holmes, Barnes-Holmes, Stewart, & O'Hora, 2002).…”

The Commutative Property in Comorbid Diagnosis

“…There are two major theories that attempt to account for how individuals combine concepts. The first, termed the competition among relations in nominals (CARIN) model, proposes that a modifier and a head noun are joined through a particular relation (Gagne, 2002;Gagne & Shoben, 1997). For example, zebra pants could be pants made of zebra materialthe concepts are linked using the "made of " relation.…”