?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Adc&rft.title=The+art+of+chicken+sexing&rft.creator=Horsey%2C+Richard&rft.subject=Cognitive+Psychology&rft.description=Expert+chick+sexers+are+able+to+quickly+and+reliably+determine+the+sex+of+day-old+chicks+on+the+basis+of+very+subtle+perceptual+cues.+They+claim+that+in+many+cases+they+have+no+idea+how+they+make+their+decisions.+They+just+look+at+the+rear+end+of+a+chick%2C+and+%E2%80%98see%E2%80%99+that+it+is+either+male+or+female.+This+is+somewhat+reminiscent+of+those+expert+chess+players%2C+often+cited+in+the+psychological+literature%2C+who+can+just+%E2%80%98see%E2%80%99+what+the+next+move+should+be%3B+similar+claims+have+been+made+for+expert+wine+tasters+and+experts+at+medical+diagnosis.+All+of+these+skills+are+hard-earned+and+not+accessible+to+introspection.%0A%0ABut+is+there+really+anything+unusual+about+the+chicken+sexer%2C+the+chess+grand+master%2C+the+wine+buff+or+the+medical+expert%3F+I+argue+that+there+is+not.+In+fact%2C+we+are+all+constantly+making+categorizations+of+this+sort%3A+we+are+highly+accurate+at+categorizing+natural+kinds%2C+substances%2C+artefacts%2C+and+so+on.+We+do+so+quickly+and+subconsciously%2C+and+the+process+is+completely+inaccessible+to+introspection.+The+question+is%2C+why+is+it+so+difficult+to+acquire+skills+such+as+chicken+sexing%2C+when+we+automatically+acquire+the+ability+to+categorize+other+objects.+In+this+paper%2C+I+argue+that+we+have+mechanisms+for+learning+the+cues+necessary+for+categorization%2C+but+that+these+mechanisms+require+selective+attention+to+be+given+to+the+relevant+features.+We+automatically+acquire+the+ability+to+categorize+certain+objects+because+we+have+inbuilt+attention+directors+causing+us+to+attend+to+diagnostic+cues.+In+cases+such+as+chicken+sexing%2C+where+we+do+not+automatically+develop+categorization+abilities%2C+our+inbuilt+attention+directors+do+not+cause+us+to+attend+to+diagnostic+cues%2C+and+out+attention+therefore+has+to+be+drawn+to+these+cues+in+another+way%2C+such+as+through+training.&rft.date=2002-09&rft.type=Journal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)&rft.type=NonPeerReviewed&rft.format=application%2Fpdf&rft.identifier=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3255%2F1%2Fchicken.pdf&rft.identifier=++Horsey%2C+Richard++(2002)+The+art+of+chicken+sexing.++%5BJournal+(On-line%2FUnpaginated)%5D+++++&rft.relation=http%3A%2F%2Fcogprints.org%2F3255%2F