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Informativity and asymmetry in comparisons

B F Bowdle¹, D Gentner

¹Northwestern University, USA.

Cognitive Psychology

|February 19, 1998

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Comparison directionality arises from how systematically information is structured. More systematic items are preferred as the base in comparisons, influencing inference and perceived informativity.

Area of Science:

Cognitive Psychology
Cognitive Science
Linguistics

Background:

Comparison asymmetries, where A is compared to B differently than B to A, are common.
Existing theories often focus on feature differences or stimulus properties.

Purpose of the Study:

To propose and test a novel account of comparison asymmetries based on structural alignment and mapping.
To investigate the role of informativity and systematicity in driving comparison directionality.

Main Methods:

Multiple experiments (1-6) were conducted using passages and comparing their systematicity.
Structural alignability was manipulated and assessed.
Inference projection and perceived informativity were measured in asymmetric comparisons.

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Main Results:

A preference was found for placing the more systematic item in the base position of a comparison.
Structural alignability was crucial for these asymmetries.
Systematicity, not feature set size, predicted asymmetries.
Comparisons with the more systematic item as the base led to greater inference projection and higher perceived informativity.

Conclusions:

Comparison asymmetries are driven by directional differences in informativity, predicted by the relative systematicity of items.
This account explains asymmetries without relying on subjective similarity or stimulus bias.
It offers a unified framework for understanding literal comparisons, analogies, and metaphors.