This study was aimed at explaining how and under what conditions surface similarity leads to the retrieval of an analogous base problem in LTM. Some elements of a theory of the organisation of knowledge in memory are proposed. Two levels of representation are distinguished. The first level represents directly accessible, local surface properties. The second level represents more abstract information pertaining to the category with which each analogous problem can be associated. Some results will be described showing that access to (...) an analogue in LTM based on surface properties is determined by the existence of a similarity at a higher level of abstraction. This is a search-area effect, in that categorical information seems to delimit a memory search space, within which the connection between local surface properties is more likely to be made. (shrink)

Despite the similarities between Keane's approach (Keane, 1987) and ours (Ripoll, 1998), there are critical theoretical and empirical differences which are discussed.

Rendell & Whitehead's minimalist definition of culture does not allow for the important gaps between cetaceans and humans. A more complete analysis reveals important discontinuities that may be more instructive for comparative purposes than the continuities emphasized by the authors.