Summation in causal learning: elemental processing or configural generalization?

Results from human causal learning tasks that employ multiple cues are often interpreted in terms of the elemental theory of Rescorla and Wagner (1972). However, most results can also be successfully interpreted by the configural model proposed by Pearce (1987, 1994). One method of discriminating between these alternatives is through an investigation of summation and overexpectation. Indeed, demonstrations of these phenomena are fundamental to an elemental approach but are generally incompatible with an account that involves configural processing. Using a procedure in which the magnitude of the outcome varied, evidence for both summation and overexpectation was obtained in two experiments.     

Summation in causal learning: Elemental processing or configural generalization?

Results from human causal learning tasks that employ multiple cues are often interpreted in terms of the elemental theory of Rescorla and Wagner (1972). However, most results can also be successfully interpreted by the configural model proposed by Pearce (1987, 1994). One method of discriminating between these alternatives is through an investigation of summation and overexpectation. Indeed, demonstrations of these phenomena are fundamental to an elemental approach but are generally incompatible with an account that involves configural processing. Using a procedure in which the magnitude of the outcome varied, evidence for both summation and overexpectation was obtained in two experiments.     

Does physical pain impair abstract thinking?

The ability to think abstractly constitutes a fundamental dimension of human cognition. Although abstraction has been extensively studied, its emotional and affective antecedents have been largely overlooked. One experiment was conducted to examine whether physical pain affects abstraction. Drawing on Construal Level Theory [Trope, Y., &; Liberman, N. (2010). Construal-level theory of psychological distance. Psychological Review, 117, 440–463] and Loewenstein’s [(1996). Out of control: Visceral influences on behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 65, 272–292] visceral factors theory, we hypothesised that pain impairs abstraction because pain constricts people’s mental horizons and lead to a concrete, inward-focus toward oneself in the here and now. Physical pain was manipulated between subjects (N?=?150). The participants either kept their left hand immersed in cold (painful) water or neutral (painless) water while we measured abstract versus concrete behaviour identification, categorisation, and perceptual processing. Bayesian statistical analyses indicate substantial evidence against the hypothesis that pain impairs abstraction. In contrast to many other previously studied cognitive outcomes (e.g. attention), abstraction appears to be largely immune to acute, experimentally induced pain.     

Does texting interrupt imitation learning in 19-month-old infants?

Observed disruptions to parent-child interactions during parental media use, such as texting, have been termed technoference. For example, when a language learning interaction was disrupted by a phone call, toddlers were less likely to acquire the word. Other studies demonstrated that parents often exhibit a still face while silently reading information on their cell phones. In the present study, the effect of a text interruption on infant imitation learning was examined. Parents demonstrated three target actions to their infants and then infants were given the opportunity to repeat those interactions. The actions were demonstrated four times. Text interruptions occurred before or between demonstrations. Performance of these groups was compared to a baseline control group where the infant did not see a demonstration of the target actions and a no-interruption group where the parents demonstrated the target actions four times without interruption. Parents were randomly assigned to three conditions, interruption-first condition, one-interruption condition, or three-interruptions condition. Infant behavior was measured during the interruptions. Across text interruption groups parents exhibited high levels of still face during the interruptions (77 %). However, infants in all 3 interruption groups performed significantly above the baseline control indicating learning despite the interruptions. Higher reported maternal reliance on the smartphone was related to poorer imitation performance overall. In contrast, when parents reported that they found it easier to multi-task infant imitation rates were higher. These findings indicate that infants can learn under conditions of brief technoference and that individual differences in family media ecology are associated with learning.     

Processing abstract sequence structure: learning without knowing, or knowing without learning?

Constant interaction with a dynamic environment—from riding a bicycle to segmenting speech—makes sensitivity to the sequential structure of the world a fundamental dimension of information processing. Accounts of sequence learning vary widely, with some authors arguing that parsing and segmentation processes are central, and others proposing that sequence learning involves mere memorization. In this paper, we argue that sequence knowledge is essentially statistical in nature, and that sequence learning involves simple associative prediction mechanisms. We focus on a choice reaction situation introduced by Lee (1997), in which participants were exposed to material that follows a single abstract rule, namely that stimuli are selected randomly, but never appear more than once in a legal sequence. Perhaps surprisingly, people can learn this rule very well. Or can they? We offer a conceptual replication of the original finding, but a very different interpretation of the results, as well as simulation work that makes it clear how highly abstract dimensions of the stimulus material can in fact be learned based on elementary associative mechanisms. We conclude that, when relevant, memory is optimized to facilitate responding to events that have not occurred recently, and that sequence learning in general always involves sensitivity to repetition distance.     

Does stimulus appearance affect learning?

We examined the learning process with 3 sets of stimuli that have identical symbolic structure but differ in appearance (meaningless letter strings, arrangements of geometric shapes, and sequences of cities). One hypothesis is that the learning process aims to encode symbolic regularity in the same way, largely regardless of appearance. Another is that different types of stimuli bias the learning process to operate in different ways. Using the experimental paradigm of artificial grammar learning, we provided a preliminary test of these hypotheses. In Experiments 1 and 2 we measured performance in terms of grammaticality and found no difference across the 3 sets of stimuli. In Experiment 3 we analyzed performance in terms of both grammaticality and chunk strength. Again we found no differences in performance. Our tentative conclusion is that the learning process aims to encode symbolic regularity independent of stimulus appearance.     

Does learning a complex task have to be complex? A study in learning decomposition

Many theories of skill acquisition have had considerable success in addressing the fine details of learning in relatively simple tasks, but can they scale up to complex tasks that are more typical of human learning in the real world? Some theories argue for scalability by making the implicit assumption that complex tasks consist of many smaller parts, which are learned according to basic learning principles. Surprisingly, there has been rather sparse empirical testing of this crucial assumption. In this article, we examine this assumption directly by decomposing the learning in the Kanfer-Ackerman Air-Traffic Controller Task (Ackerman, 1988) from the learning at the global level all the way down to the learning at the keystroke level. First, we reanalyze the data from Ackerman (1988) and show that the learning in this complex task does indeed reflect the learning of smaller parts at the keystroke level. Second, in a follow-up eye-tracking experiment, we show that a large portion of the learning at the keystroke level reflects the learning even at a lower, i.e., attentional level.     

Does fun promote learning? The relationship between fun in the workplace and informal learning

Although research has demonstrated that workplace fun has important benefits, we have an incomplete understanding of the role of fun in the learning domain, especially informal learning. To address this need, the present study examined the influence of fun activities and manager support for fun on informal learning among 206 managers. Fun activities were significantly related to overall informal learning, but manager support for fun was not. Examination of the dimensions of informal learning found that manager support for fun was significantly related to learning from oneself, while fun activities were significantly related to learning from others and learning from non-interpersonal sources. Furthermore, a negative interaction between core-self evaluations and fun activities in predicting learning from oneself was found, suggesting that fun may not be beneficial for all individuals. The key practical implication is that organizations should consider fun as a viable strategy to promote informal learning beyond traditional learning supports. At the same time, organizations should consider the personality of their learners to ensure fun has its intended impact.     

Does social environment influence learning ability in a family-living lizard?

Early developmental environment can have profound effects on individual physiology, behaviour, and learning. In birds and mammals, social isolation during development is known to negatively affect learning ability; yet in other taxa, like reptiles, the effect of social isolation during development on learning ability is unknown. We investigated how social environment affects learning ability in the family-living tree skink (Egernia striolata). We hypothesized that early social environment shapes cognitive development in skinks and predicted that skinks raised in social isolation would have reduced learning ability compared to skinks raised socially. Offspring were separated at birth into two rearing treatments: (1) raised alone or (2) in a pair. After 1 year, we quantified spatial learning ability of skinks in these rearing treatments (N = 14 solitary, 14 social). We found no effect of rearing treatment on learning ability. The number of skinks to successfully learn the task, the number of trials taken to learn the task, the latency to perform the task, and the number of errors in each trial did not differ between isolated and socially reared skinks. Our results were unexpected, yet the facultative nature of this species’ social system may result in a reduced effect of social isolation on behaviour when compared to species with obligate sociality. Overall, our findings do not provide evidence that social environment affects development of spatial learning ability in this family-living lizard.     

Does dietary learning occur outside awareness?

Several forms of dietary learning have been identified in humans. These include flavor-flavor learning, flavor-postingestive learning (including flavor-caffeine learning), and learned satiety. Generally, learning is thought to occur in the absence of contingency (CS-US) or demand awareness. However, a review of the literature suggests that this conclusion may be premature because measures of awareness lack the rigor that is found in studies of other kinds of human learning. If associations do configure outside awareness then this should be regarded as a rare instance of automatic learning. Conversely, if awareness is important, then successful learning may be governed by an individual's beliefs and predilection to attend to stimulus relationships. For researchers of dietary learning this could be critical because it might explain why learning paradigms have a reputation for being unreliable. Since most food preferences are learned, asking questions about awareness can also tell us something fundamental about everyday dietary control.     

Artificial grammar learning in children: abstraction of rules or sensitivity to perceptual features?

We examined sensitivity to grammatical sequences of colors in an artificial grammar learning task in a sample of 120 children aged between 5 and 8 years. The aim of the experiment was to test whether the children would preferentially learn the specific salient features of the items they were exposed to or the rules that generated these items. The children were divided into two experimental groups (identical grammar but training items differing in their surface features) and a control group (random items). The results showed that regardless of age, participants learned the most frequent salient features of the items, as well as some kind of abstract relational information. However, the 8-year-olds presented a more complex result profile, with one of the experimental groups apparently developing sensitivity to grammatical rules. These results are discussed with reference to the main current models of implicit learning. Overall, the results provided more support for stimulus-specific processing models than for rule-based models.     

Does code-switching influence novel word learning?

Code-switching occurs regularly in the input to bilingual children. Yet, the effect of code-switched input on language development is unclear. To test whether word learning would be affected by code-switching, Spanish–English bilingual children (N = 45, 19 boys, Mean_Age = 5.05 years; ethnicity: 37 Hispanic/Latino, six Non-Hispanic/Latino, two unreported) were taught English-like novel words in two conditions. In the English-only condition, definitions for novel words were provided entirely in English. In the code-switch condition, definitions for novel words were provided in English and Spanish, incorporating code-switches. Children required fewer exposures to retain novel words in the code-switch than the English-only condition and this effect was not moderated by children's language ability or exposure to code-switching, suggesting that code-switched input does not pose word-learning risks to bilingual children, including children with lower levels of language ability.     

Does temporal contiguity moderate contingency learning in a speeded performance task?

In four experiments, we varied the time between the onset of distracting nonwords and target colour words in a word-word version of the colour-word contingency learning paradigm. Contingencies were created by pairing a distractor nonword more often with one target colour word than with other colour words. A contingency effect corresponds to faster responses to the target colour word on high-contingency trials (i.e., distractor nonword followed by the target colour word with which it appears most often) than on low-contingency trials (i.e., distractor nonword followed by a target colour word with which it appears only occasionally). Roughly equivalent-sized contingency effects were found at stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 50, 250, and 450?ms in Experiment 1, and 50, 500, and 1,000?ms in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3, a contingency effect was observed at SOAs of -50, -200, and -350?ms. In Experiment 4, interstimulus interval (ISI) was varied along with SOA, and learning was equivalent for 200-, 700-, and 1,200-ms SOAs. Together, these experiments suggest that the distracting stimulus does not need to be presented in close temporal contiguity with the response to induce learning. Relations to past research on causal judgement and implications for further contingency learning research are discussed.     

Does temporal contiguity moderate contingency learning in a speeded performance task?

In four experiments, we varied the time between the onset of distracting nonwords and target colour words in a word–word version of the colour–word contingency learning paradigm. Contingencies were created by pairing a distractor nonword more often with one target colour word than with other colour words. A contingency effect corresponds to faster responses to the target colour word on high-contingency trials (i.e., distractor nonword followed by the target colour word with which it appears most often) than on low-contingency trials (i.e., distractor nonword followed by a target colour word with which it appears only occasionally). Roughly equivalent-sized contingency effects were found at stimulus-onset asynchronies (SOAs) of 50, 250, and 450 ms in Experiment 1, and 50, 500, and 1,000 ms in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3, a contingency effect was observed at SOAs of –50, –200, and –350 ms. In Experiment 4, interstimulus interval (ISI) was varied along with SOA, and learning was equivalent for 200-, 700-, and 1,200-ms SOAs. Together, these experiments suggest that the distracting stimulus does not need to be presented in close temporal contiguity with the response to induce learning. Relations to past research on causal judgement and implications for further contingency learning research are discussed.     

Word learning in dogs?

In a recent paper, Kaminski, Call and Fischer report pioneering research on word-learning in a dog. In this commentary we suggest ways of distinguishing referential word use from mere association. We question whether the dog is reasoning by exclusion and, if so, compare three explanations - learned heuristics, default assumptions, and pragmatic reasoning - as they apply to children and might apply to dogs. Kaminski et al.'s work clearly raises important questions about the origins and basis of word learning and social cognition.     

Does test-enhanced learning transfer for triple associates?

Test-enhanced learning and transfer for triple-associate word stimuli was assessed in three experiments. In each experiment, training and final-test trials involved the presentation of two words per triple associate (triplet), with the third word having to be retrieved. In agreement with the prior literature on different stimuli, training through testing with feedback yielded markedly better final-test performance than did restudy. However, in contrast to the positive transfer reported for paired associate stimuli, minimal or no positive transfer was observed, relative to a restudy control, from a trained cue combination (e.g., A, B, ?) to other cue combinations from the same triplet that required a different response (e.g., B, C, ?). That result also held when two unique cue combinations per triplet were tested during training, and for triplets with low and high average associative strengths. Supplementary analyses provided insight into the overall transfer effect: An incorrect response during training appears to yield positive transfer relative to restudy, whereas a correct response appears to yield no, or even negative, transfer. Cross-experiment analyses indicated that test-enhanced learning is not diminished when two or three cue combinations are presented during training. Thus, even though learning through testing is highly specific, testing on all possible stimulus–response combinations remains the most efficient strategy for the learning of triple associates.     

Does perceptual learning in speech reflect changes in phonetic category representation or decision bias?

Recent studies show that perceptual boundaries between phonetic categories are changeable with training (Norris, McQueen, & Cutler, 2003). For example, Kraljic and Samuel (2005) exposed listeners in a lexical decision task to ambiguous /s-integral/ sounds in either s-word contexts (e.g., legacy) or integral-word contexts (e.g., parachute). In a subsequent /s/-/integral/ categorization test, listeners in the /s/ condition categorized more tokens as /s/ than did those in the /integral/ condition. The effect--termed perceptual learning in speech--is assumed to reflect a change in phonetic category representation. However, the result could be due to a decision bias resulting from the training task. In Experiment 1, we replicated the basic Kraljic and Samuel (2005) experiment and added an AXB discrimination test. In Experiment 2, we used a task that is less likely to induce a decision bias. Results of both experiments and signal detection analyses point to a true change in phonetic representation.     

Does the big five predict learning approaches?

The present study examines if the big five personality traits can statistically predict learning approaches. Four hundred and twenty (286 female and 134 male) university students from Shanghai, PR China volunteered to participate in the study. The participants responded to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Study Process Questionnaire. A cross-examination of the results from zero-order correlation, t-tests, multivariate analysis, and multiple-regression procedures indicated that the big five personality traits predict learning approaches to a certain degree. In this prediction, the conscientiousness and openness traits contributed the most in accounting for the differences in students' learning approaches. Conscientiousness is a good predictor for both the deep and the achieving approaches. Openness significantly predicted the deep approach to learning. Neuroticism is a good predictor for the surface approach to learning, whereas the agreeableness trait clearly predicted a learning approach that is not achieving. Finally, no distinct pattern was identified regarding the relationship of extraversion to any of the learning approaches.     

Does infancy matter? predicting social behavior from infant temperament

In this essay we argue that infant temperament, defined as behavioral styles that appear early in life as a direct result of neurobiological factors, plays a significant role in the development and expression of social behavior. Temperament may be studied using a typological or dimensional approach and the relations between early temperament and later behavior can be examined in terms of homotypic or heterotypic continuity. The implication of each of these approaches for understanding the influence of infant temperament on social development is examined. As well, utilizing data from our laboratory, we suggest that under certain circumstances one can predict social behavior by identifying two temperament types in infancy. These types are high reactive/high negative infants and high reactive/high positive infants. A significant proportion of the high reactive/high negative infants display behavioral inhibition and social reticence through the preschool years, whereas a significant proportion of the high reactive/high positive infants display exuberance and positive social interaction through the preschool period.