The effect of repetition of items on two phases of paired associate learning

An investigation is reported in which the effect of repetition of items on two learning tasks is determined. These tasks are considered to be analogous to the response-learning and associative phases of paired associate learning. The findings tend to support the hypotheses under investigation, that response learning is an all-or-none occurrence and that the associative phase may be explained by the dual factor hypothesis.     

Serial rote-learning: Incremental or all-or-none?

If the associative connections in a serial list are acquired in an all-or-none fashion, rather than gradually with every trial adding an increment of associative strength, then changing the serial order of the middle items in the list during the course of practice should have no effect on the rate of learning the list as a whole or even of the particular items that have been interchanged. Thirty subjects learned a serial list by the anticipation method. The middle items of the list were reversed in serial order approximately half-way through the number of trials required for mastery. The subjects took no longer to learn the list and made no more errors than did 30 control subjects for whom there was no change in serial order. The serial-position curves of the two groups were almost identical. It was also shown that the learning “curves” of single items in the series, when plotted for individual subjects do not reveal a gradually increasing probability of the correct response, but show instead a sudden jump on one trial from the chance guessing level to a level close to 100 per cent, correct responses. The results are consistent with a non-incremental theory of serial learning.     

合体字与复合词中联结编码和项目编码的关系

本研究通过考察合体字和复合词加工过程中联结记忆和项目记忆的变化,探究了在将不同项目绑定为整体的过程中联结编码和项目编码间的关系,并结合脑电技术比较了合体字和复合词的加工过程在神经机制上的差异。行为结果显示:与不能组成字或词的编码条件相比,合体字和复合词编码条件下的联结记忆成绩有显著提升,且项目记忆成绩没有下降;与复合词编码相比,合体字编码条件下的联结记忆和项目记忆成绩都显著更好。脑电结果显示:复合词编码时晚期负成分(LNC)主要位于额区且发生较早,而合体字编码时的LNC主要位于枕区且发生更晚;合体字编码比复合词编码在α/β频段的神经振荡去同步化更强。这些结果表明,将不同项目绑定为整体的操作可以强化大脑对联结信息的加工,同时不会损害对项目的加工,支持了“只有收益”的观点。本研究也从实证的角度为汉语学习材料的编排提供了参考。     

Short-term memory for repeated and non-repeated items

Digit sequences containing repeated items are retained differently in short-term memory from sequences containing no repeated items. The repeated items are remembered better or worse than items in the corresponding positions of “all-different” sequences depending on the number of times the item is repeated, the number of items repeated, the number of items intervening between the occurences of a repeated item, and the position of the repeated items in relation to the beginning and end of the sequence. In every type of repetition studied, except one, memory for the non-repeated items in sequences with repeated items is better than for the corresponding items of all-different sequences. This is true in some cases despite significant specific interference between the (non-repeated) items following the separated occurrences of repeated items. The negative effects in memory for repeated items and the positive effects in memory for non-repeated items are greater when the items are presented at the rate of five per sec. than at one per sec., contrary to the hypothesis that differential rehearsal is responsible for these effects. The results are interpreted as supporting an “associative,” as opposed to a “non-associative,” theory of short-term memory, as this distinction is defined in the paper.     

Prawn-in-a-tube procedure: habituation or associative learning in cuttlefish?

The prawn-in-a-tube procedure (J. B. Messenger, 1973a) has been used almost exclusively to study associative learning in cuttlefish. In two experiments, the authors sought to determine whether the decline in attack responses observed in this procedure was best accounted for by habituation or associative learning. Results of Experiment 1 revealed an asymmetrical stimulus-specificity effect that could be interpreted as either an instance of habituation or of associative learning. Results of Experiment 2 demonstrated that the response decline could not be reversed following the presentation of a dishabituatory stimulus. The combined results of these experiments support the conclusion that the response decline is best viewed as a resulting of associative processes. The authors considered whether the response decline represents extinction or passive avoidance.     

Effect of multiple images on associative learning

The present research investigated the effects of multiple images on associative learning. In Experiment 1, subjects formed either a noninteractive image of two words, a single interactive image, a multiple interactive image consisting of multiple copies of the same image, or a multiple interactive image consisting of different images. In Experiment 2, the different multiple images were formed across trials instead of simultaneously during the same trial. Both experiments showed that, although interactive images are superior to noninteractive images, there is no reliable facilitation from multiple images as compared with single images. The results were discussed in terms of the variable-encoding hypothesis and previous findings that multiple retrieval paths facilitate verbal learning.     

Encoding and retrieval effects of dual sensory-semantic cues

This experiment was designed to explore the relative effects of dual and embedded sensory-semantic retrieval cues (e.g.,GLAMOUR GIRL). Cues and targets shared both first-letter and associative features, only first-letter features, or only associative features. The cues were presented during the single test trial or they were presented during the single study trial and again at test. Finally, subjects in the dual-cue condition were or were not told about the addition of the first-letter contingency. The results indicated that dual were superior to single cues with each feature contributing independently and additively to recall. This dual facilitation was obtained when the cues were shown only at test or during both study and test and regardless of whether or not the subjects were explicitly aware of the additional sensory contingency. These findings were expected and explained by the assumptions of the coding-access-recognition model     

Judgments of Frequency and Recency in a Distributed Memory Model

TODAM is a theory of distributed associative memory based on the convolution-correlation formalism of A. Borsellino and T. Poggio (1973, Kybernetik, 122, 113-122), and TODAM2 is a revised version which includes context, auto-associations for binding, a dual basis for item information, and mediators for associative information. It can explain some complex interactions (differential forgetting and differential attention) between item and associative information. In this paper we derive the basic expressions for the memory-probe dot product for the 2x2 cases (item and pair study crossed with item and pair probe), and then we apply these expressions to judgments of frequency (JOF) and judgments of recency (JOR). We report an experiment which tests both JOF and JOR for single items with post-cuing to control for encoding strategies and suggest an attenuation factor for repetition to improve the fits. With attenuation, TODAM2 can fit the JOR data, but the JOF fits, while not too bad, consistently predict too much dependence between item and associative information. Copyright 2001 Academic Press.     

负性情绪对不同语义、空间关系联结记忆的影响

以负性项目-中性场景以及中性项目-中性场景组成的图片对为材料,通过操控项目-场景之间的语义联系和空间距离,考察了负性情绪对不同语义、空间关系联结记忆的影响。结果显示,当项目-场景空间距离较近时,无论项目-场景之间的语义是否相关,负性情绪始终不会影响项目-场景联结记忆;当项目-场景空间距离较远且语义不相关时,负性情绪会削弱项目-场景联结记忆;而当项目-场景空间距离较远且语义相关时,负性情绪会促进项目-场景联结记忆。结果表明,负性情绪对项目-场景联结记忆的影响会受到项目与场景之间语义关系和空间关系的调节,且语义关系在项目-场景空间距离较远时的作用更为突出。     

Older adults’ associative deficit in episodic memory: Assessing the role of decline in attentional resources

In this study, we evaluated an associative deficit hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that the deficit seen in the episodic memory performance of older adults is due, in considerable part, to older adults’ difficulty in binding together unrelated components of an episode into a cohesive entity (Naveh-Benjamin, 2000). The study extended the conditions under which older adults show a differential deficit in tests requiring associations among the episode components to situations in which the item and the associative recognition tests are equated on the response mode used and on the amount of information displayed. In addition, we tested the potential role of a decrease in attentional resources in the associative deficit of older adults by comparing their performance to that of younger adults under conditions of reduced attentional resources. The results of the study, which indicate that younger adults under divided attention do not show an associative deficit, are interpreted as indicating that the associative deficit of older adults is due to factors other than depleted attentional resources.     

Differential effects of age on item and associative measures of memory: a meta-analysis

In this meta-analysis, the authors evaluated recent suggestions that older adults' episodic memory impairments are partially due to a reduced ability to encode and retrieve associated/bound units of information. Results of 90 studies of episodic memory for both item and associative information in 3,197 young and 3,192 older adults provided support for the age-related associative/binding deficit suggestion, indicating a larger effect of age on memory for associative information than for item information. Moderators assessed included the type of associations, encoding instructions, materials, and test format. Results indicated an age-related associative deficit in memory for source, context, temporal order, spatial location, and item pairings, in both verbal and nonverbal material. An age-related associative deficit was quite pronounced under intentional learning instructions but was not clearly evident under incidental learning instructions. Finally, test format was also found to moderate the associative deficit, with older adults showing an associative/binding deficit when item memory was evaluated via recognition tests but not when item memory was evaluated via recall tests, in which case the age-related deficits were similar for item and associative information.     

Tests of encoding tradeoffs between item and associative information

The assumption that item and associative information are processed separately and that there is a tradeoff in the amount of each type of information that can be encoded in a given study interval (e.g., Anderson & Bower, 1972; Murdock, 1982, 1992) was examined. When item information was emphasized at study, recognition memory for associative information was poor, demonstrating that item information can be emphasized over associative information. In contrast, when associative information was emphasized, associative recognition greatly improved but item recognition did not suffer. This pattern of results was found at both fast and slow presentation rates, and for both high and low word concreteness and word frequency. Measures of confidence and response latency were also consistent with this pattern. Thus, the encoding of associative information did not measurably diminish item recognition performance.     

Familiarity and recollection in item and associative recognition

Recognition memory for item information (single words) and associative information (word pairs) was tested immediately and after retention intervals of 30 min and 1 day (Experiment 1) and 2 days and 7 days (Experiment 2) using Tulving's (1985) remember/know response procedure. Associative recognition decisions were accompanied by more "remember" responses and less "know" responses than item recognition decisions. Overall recognition performance and the proportion of remember responses declined at similar rates for item and associative information. The pattern of results for item recognition was consistent with Donaldson's (1996) single-factor signal detection model of remember/know responses, as comparisons based on A' between overall item recognition and remember item recognition showed no significant differences. For associative recognition, however, A' for remember responses was reliably greater than for overall recognition. The results show that recollection plays a significant role in associative recognition.     

Initial codes for order in memory

The roles of positional and associative information in preserving the order of short sequences of items were investigated either by presenting an item in the same serial position on successive trials (position transfer), or by presenting the same pair of items in adjacent but shifted positions on successive trials (association transfer). While Experiment I found that positive transfer of position information occurred after just one repetition of an item in the same serial position, Experiment II found no evidence for association transfer after a single trial. If an item is presented in the same position, or if a pair of items are presented in adjacent positions on several successive trials, position transfer effects built up more rapidly than association transfer effects (Experiments III and IV). However, the rate at which association transfer effects are established depends on the type of item used, with lists of concrete words showing rapid establishment of associations (Experiment V) but lists of digits showing only slow development of associations (Experiment IV). It was concluded that serial order may be preserved both by positional and associative codes, but the establishment of an associative code is linked to the extraction of information about the items themselves.     

Reflections of the mirror effect for item and associative recognition

In five experiments, participants studied pairs of words and yes/no recognition memory for both item and associative information was tested. Two stimulus manipulations, nouns versus nonnouns and high versus low word concreteness, produced the mirror effect for both item and associative recognition. The mirror effect was reflected in both measures of accuracy and response latency. A word frequency manipulation, however, produced the mirror effect only for item recognition. Two additional experiments showed that the mirror effect could also be obtained between nouns and nonnouns and between high and low concrete words for associative recognition in a forced-choice recognition procedure. The results extend the generality of the mirror effect to measures of response latency and to associative recognition and also suggest that similar retrieval and decision processes underlie recognition of item and associative information.     

语义联系对关联再认神经机制的调节

已有研究显示,关联再认可记录到分别反映双重加工模型的两阶段（即熟悉和回忆）的ERP成分（即FN400和LPC成分）,且具有高语义联系配对的关联再认可通过整合在基于熟悉加工的基础上完成。然而,不同语义联系对关联再认神经机制的影响及单个项目的熟悉和回忆加工的调节作用尚未揭示。为此,本研究比较了主题相关和类别相关图形关联再认的波形波幅异同,并分析了单个项目的熟悉和回忆加工对配对识别的影响。结果显示,主题相关和类别相关条件的旧配对、重组配对和“旧+新”配对均记录到反映熟悉加工的FN400成分,主题相关条件的旧配对、重组配对和“旧+新”配对均记录到反映回忆加工的LPC成分,类别相关条件的旧配对记录到LPC成分。表明关联再认的神经机制受语义联系所调节,单个项目的熟悉程度可影响配对识别时的神经机制,上述结论支持双重加工模型。     

The influence of retrieval on retention

Four experiments tested the hypothesis that successful retrieval of an item from memory affects retention only because the retrieval provides an additional presentation of the target item. Two methods of learning paired associates were compared. In the pure study trial (pure ST condition) method, both items of a pair were presented simultaneously for study. In the test trial/study trial (TTST condition) method, subjects attempted to retrieve the response term during a period in which only the stimulus term was present (and the response term of the pair was presented after a 5-sec delay). Final retention of target items was tested with cued-recall tests. In Experiment 1, there was a reliable advantage in final testing for nonsense-syllable/number pairs in the TTST condition over pairs in the pure ST condition. In Experiment 2, the same result was obtained with Eskimo/English word pairs. This benefit of the TTST condition was not apparently different for final retrieval after 5 min or after 24 h. Experiments 3 and 4 ruled out two artifactual explanations of the TTST advantage observed in the first two experiments. Because performing a memory retrieval (TTST condition) led to better performance than pure study (pure ST condition), the results reject the hypothesis that a successful retrieval is beneficial only to the extent that it provides another study experience.     

The role of associative history in models of associative learning: A selective review and a hybrid model

Associative learning theories strive to capture the processes underlying and driving the change in strength of the associations between representations of stimuli that develop as a result of experience of the predictive relationships between those stimuli. Historically, formal models of associative learning have focused on two potential factors underlying associative change, namely processing of the conditioned stimulus (in terms of changes in associability) and processing of the unconditioned stimulus (in terms of changes in error). This review constitutes an analysis of the proper role of these two factors, specifically with regard to the way in which they are influenced by associative history (the prior training undergone by cues). A novel “hybrid” model of associative learning is proposed and is shown to provide a more satisfactory account of the effects of associative history on subsequent learning than any previous single-process theory.     

Modeling cross-situational word-referent learning: prior questions

Both adults and young children possess powerful statistical computation capabilities--they can infer the referent of a word from highly ambiguous contexts involving many words and many referents by aggregating cross-situational statistical information across contexts. This ability has been explained by models of hypothesis testing and by models of associative learning. This article describes a series of simulation studies and analyses designed to understand the different learning mechanisms posited by the 2 classes of models and their relation to each other. Variants of a hypothesis-testing model and a simple or dumb associative mechanism were examined under different specifications of information selection, computation, and decision. Critically, these 3 components of the models interact in complex ways. The models illustrate a fundamental tradeoff between amount of data input and powerful computations: With the selection of more information, dumb associative models can mimic the powerful learning that is accomplished by hypothesis-testing models with fewer data. However, because of the interactions among the component parts of the models, the associative model can mimic various hypothesis-testing models, producing the same learning patterns but through different internal components. The simulations argue for the importance of a compositional approach to human statistical learning: the experimental decomposition of the processes that contribute to statistical learning in human learners and models with the internal components that can be evaluated independently and together.     

A Dynamical Systems Approach to Skill Acquisition

This paper argues that the answer to the question, what has to be learned, needs to be established before the question, how is it learned, can be meaningfully addressed. Based on this conviction, some of the limitations of current and past research on skill acquisition are discussed. Motivated by the dynamical systems approach, the question of “what has to be learned” was tackled by setting up a non-linear mathematical model of the task (i.e. learning to make sideways movements on a ski apparatus). On the basis of this model, the phase lag between movements of the platform of the apparatus and the actions of the subject was isolated as an ensemble variable reflecting the timing of the subject in relation to the dynamics of the apparatus. This variable was subsequently used to study “how” the task was learned in a discovery learning experiment, in which predictions stemming from the model were tested and confirmed. Overall, these findings provided support for the hypothesis, formulated by Bernstein (1967), that one of the important effects of practice is learning to make use of reactive forces, thereby reducing the need for active muscular forces.

In addition, the data from a previous learning experiment on the ski apparatus—the results of which had been equivocal—were reconsidered. The use of phase lag as a dependent variable provided a resolution of those findings.

On the basis of the confirmatory testing of predictions stemming from the model and the clarification of findings from a previous experiment, it is argued that the dynamical systems approach put forward here provides a powerful method for pursuing issues in skill acquisition. Suggestions are made as to how this approach can be used to systematically pursue the questions that arise as a natural outcome of the experimental evidence presented here.