AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -A prototype is the BEST example or cognitive representation of something within a certain category. Prototypes are used to enhance memory and recall, since you can keep a prototype of something and then match new, similar things to the prototype in order to identify, categorize, or store this new thing.

Detailed explanation-2: -A prototype expresses the most salient features of a conceptual category, i.e. is its central member. A chair, for example, is commonly seen as a prototypical type of furniture, whereas a television may not be. The television is thus a more peripheral (or radial) member of the category furniture.

Detailed explanation-3: -A prototype is the best example or representation of a concept. For example, for the category of civil disobedience, your prototype could be Rosa Parks. Her peaceful resistance to segregation on a city bus in Montgomery, Alabama, is a recognizable example of civil disobedience.

Detailed explanation-4: -The prototype of a category can be understood in lay terms by the object or member of a class most often associated with that class. The prototype is the center of the class, with all other members moving progressively further from the prototype, which leads to the gradation of categories.