On the timescale of stimulus-based action–effect learning

When performing an action, people pick up associations between their actions and the resulting consequences of that action, a phenomenon that has been termed response (R)–effect (E) learning. In the present study, we investigated incidental R–E learning in a forced-choice—that is, a stimulus (S)-based—acquisition mode. Specifically, the study examined at which timescale R–E learning evolves—that is, how many encounters are actually needed to form stable R–E associations. The learning of R–E associations was assessed in a subsequent test phase via effect-based response priming. Experiment 1 tested 4 different numbers of S–R–E repetitions for a 2–2–2 S–R–E mapping. Experiment 2 disentangled the contributions of S–E and R–E associations to the facilitating impact of effect-based response priming by means of a 4–2–4 S–R–E mapping. Experiment 3 investigated whether R–E associations can be picked up even when a given E cannot be unequivocally predicted based on the antecedent S in case of inconsistent S–R–E couplings. Together, the results of the present study clearly show that R–E learning occurs in a stimulus-based action mode and that it evolves very rapidly after only 12 S–R–E repetitions. Moreover, the present findings suggest that at least in this initial phase of learning, complete S–R–E consistency seems to be relevant for R–E learning.     

Congruency sequence effect without feature integration and contingency learning

The magnitude of congruency effects, such as the flanker-compatibility effects, has been found to vary as a function of the congruency of the previous trial. Some studies have suggested that this congruency sequence effect is attributable to stimulus and/or response priming, and/or contingency learning, whereas other studies have suggested that the control process triggered by conflict modulates the congruency effect. The present study examined whether sequential modulation can occur without stimulus and response repetitions and contingency learning. Participants were asked to perform two color flanker-compatibility tasks alternately in a trial-by-trial manner, with four fingers of one hand in Experiment 1 and with the index and middle fingers of two hands in Experiment 2, to avoid stimulus and response repetitions and contingency learning. A significant congruency sequence effect was obtained between the congruencies of the two tasks in Experiment 1 but not in Experiment 2. These results provide evidence for the idea that the sequential modulation is, at least in part, an outcome of the top-down control process triggered by conflict, which is specific to response mode.     

Adaptive control of ideomotor effect anticipations

According to ideomotor theory, voluntary actions are selected and initiated by means of anticipated action effects. Prior experiments yielded evidence for these effect anticipations with response-effect (R-E) compatibility phenomena using blocked R-E relations. Daily actions, however, typically evoke different effects depending on the situational context. In the present study, we accounted for this natural variability and investigated R-E compatibility effects by a trial-by-trial variation of R-E compatibility relations. In line with recent observations regarding ideomotor learning, R-E compatibility influenced responding only when participants responded in free choice trials assuming that participants then adopted an intention-based action control mode. In contrast, R-E compatibility had no impact when participants responded according to imperative stimuli throughout the experiment, thus when participants adopted a stimulus-based action control mode. Interestingly, once an intention-based mode was established because of free choice trials within an experimental block, we observed response compatibility effects in free as well as forced choice trials. These findings extend and refine theoretical assumptions on different action control modes in goal-directed behavior and the specific contribution of ideomotor processes to intention-based action control.     

Perceptual and response components in repetition priming of spoken words and pseudowords

Two experiments explored repetition priming effects for spoken words and pseudowords in order to investigate abstractionist and episodic accounts of spoken word recognition and repetition priming. In Experiment 1, lexical decisions were made on spoken words and pseudowords with half of the items presented twice (～12 intervening items). Half of all repetitions were spoken in a “different voice” from the first presentations. Experiment 2 used the same procedure but with stimuli embedded in noise to slow responses. Results showed greater priming for words than for pseudowords and no effect of voice change in both normal and effortful processing conditions. Additional analyses showed that for slower participants, priming is more equivalent for words and pseudowords, suggesting episodic stimulus–response associations that suppress familiarity-based mechanisms that ordinarily enhance word priming. By relating behavioural priming to the time-course of pseudoword identification we showed that under normal listening conditions (Experiment 1) priming reflects facilitation of both perceptual and decision components, whereas in effortful listening conditions (Experiment 2) priming effects primarily reflect enhanced decision/response generation processes. Both stimulus–response associations and enhanced processing of sensory input seem to be voice independent, providing novel evidence concerning the degree of perceptual abstraction in the recognition of spoken words and pseudowords.     

Anticipated action effects affect the selection, initiation, and execution of actions

This study investigated the impact of contingent action effects on response production. In Experiment 1 responses of varying intensity were initiated faster when contingently followed by auditory effects of corresponding rather than of noncorresponding intensity. This response-effect (R-E) compatibility influence was robust with respect to practice, and it was not due to persisting influences of preceding R-E episodes. These results support the conclusion that R-E compatibility reflects the impact of anticipatory effect representations in response production. Experiment 2 showed that anticipatory effect codes have an impact on early processes of response production (response selection) as well as on processes that immediately precede overt responding (response initiation). Finally, they also influence the way the actions are physically performed (response execution). The results support and specify ideo-motor theories of action control that assume movements to be controlled by anticipations of their sensorial effects.     

Correlational cuing as a function of target complexity and target-flanker similarity

It is generally assumed that the correlational cuing effect (CE) between targets and correlated flankers is due to learning association between the flankers and their correlated responses. The present study challenges this view. Experiment 1 shows that the CE for targets composed of color is eliminated as soon as the correlation is removed. Experiment 2 shows that the CE during training is not due to association of the flankers with responses. Experiment 3 shows that at least some of the CE during training with the correlation is due to repetition priming of the display. Experiment 4 replicates the results of Experiment 1 for orientation targets. In Experiments 5-7, more typical tasks with letter targets are examined, and it is demonstrated that preexperimental similarity between targets and correlated flankers is crucial. The CE for correlated but dissimilar target-flanker pairs, similar to that for color and orientation targets, is confined to on-line processes that occur during training. The CE is transferred, however, for correlated and similar target-flanker pairs. We propose that, at least for the simple stimulus to response mapping used in our study, the CE is not due to learning at all. Instead it is due to (1) on-line processes, such as repetition priming, that occur during training with the correlation and (2) a regular flanker effect (see, e.g., B. A. Eriksen & C. W. Eriksen, 1974) that occurs for similar target-flanker pairs.     

Paired-associate learning and priming effects in amnesia: a neuropsychological study

Despite severe deficits of recall and recognition, amnesic patients can exhibit normal priming effects. Amnesic patients have also been reported to perform well on tests of paired-associate learning that involve related word pairs (e.g., table-chair). The present study investigated the role of priming effects in paired-associate learning. Experiment 1 illustrated the distinction between the memory impairment of amnesic patients and their intact priming ability. Amnesic patients were markedly deficient in learning unrelated word pairs, despite exhibiting normal priming as measured by a word-completion test involving the same words. In Experiment 2A, amnesic patients showed good paired-associate learning for related word pairs, though control subjects still performed significantly better. In addition, the good performance by amnesic patients was short-lived, and performance fell to baseline after a 2-hr delay. Control subjects performed well above baseline at all delay conditions. Experiment 2B showed that the forgetting of related word pairs by amnesic patients followed the same time course as the decay of word priming. Experiment 3 showed that amnesic patients were as good as control subjects at learning related word pairs when incidental learning and test procedures were used (a word-association test). The advantage of control subjects over amnesic patients in Experiments 2A and 2B could therefore be attributed to the explicit learning instructions that are standard in paired-associate tests. Finally, Experiment 4 showed that amnesic patients exhibited normal priming when they were asked to "free associate" to words (e.g., child) that were semantically related to previously presented words (e.g., baby). The results indicate that both priming effects and paired-associate learning of related word pairs depend on activation, a process that is preserved in amnesia. Activation can account for the findings of good performance by amnesic patients on tests of word priming (Experiments 1 and 2B), related paired associates (Experiments 2A and 2B), and word association (Experiments 3 and 4). Activation is a transient phenomenon presumed to operate on and facilitate access to preexisting representations. Control subjects can establish new associations and can strengthen preexisting associations by engaging processes that are impaired in amnesia. As a result, when explicit learning instructions are used to test paired-associate learning of related word pairs, control subjects can learn better and can remember longer than can amnesic patients (Experiments 2A and 2B).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Movements or targets: What makes an action in action–effect learning?

According to ideomotor theory, actions become linked to the sensory feedback they contingently produce, so that anticipating the feedback automatically evokes the action it typically results from. Numerous recent studies have provided evidence in favour of such action–effect learning but left an important issue unresolved. It remains unspecified to what extent action–effect learning is based on associating effect-representations to representations of the performed movements or to representations of the targets at which the behaviour aimed at. Two experiments were designed to clarify this issue. In an acquisition phase, participants learned the contingency between key presses and effect tones. In a following test phase, key–effect and movement–effect relations were orthogonally assessed by changing the hand–key mapping for one half of the participants. Experiment 1 showed precedence for target–effect over movement–effect learning in a forced-choice RT task. In Experiment 2, target–effect learning was also shown to influence the outcome of response selection in a free-choice task. Altogether, the data indicate that both movement–effect and target–effect associations contribute to the formation of action–effect linkages—provided that movements and targets are likewise contingently related to the effects.     

A sequential analysis of relevant and irrelevant information in the Stroop task

The effect of repeating relevant (colour) and irrelevant (word) stimulus information is investigated in two Stroop tasks. Thomas (1977) observed that the Stroop effect is reduced when the irrelevant word is repeated from trial n -1 to trial n. A similar effect was observed in the Simon task (Notebaert, Soetens, & Melis, 2001; Notebaert & Soetens, 2003a). MacLeod (1991) interprets this effect as sustained suppression and relates it to negative priming. In this paper we investigate whether the reduced Stroop effect for word repetitions is indeed related to the negative priming effect. In Experiment 1 with a response-stimulus interval (RSI) of 50 ms, the Stroop effect is not influenced by the sequence of the word and there is no negative priming effect. In Experiment 2 with an RSI of 200 ms, the Stroop effect is reduced for word repetitions but there is still no negative priming effect. This does not support the sustained-suppression hypothesis. The reduced Stroop effect for word repetitions is explained in terms of response priming.     

Priming for new associations in animacy decision: Evidence for context dependency

In four experiments we investigated the context-dependent nature of semantic memory by looking at priming effects in animacy decision for newly formed associations. The first experiment investigated whether the priming effect depended on the nature of the prior relation between the word pairs. The results showed no such effect, replicating earlier findings. Experiments 2, 3, and 4 investigated the role of context overlap between study and test. In Experiment 2 priming for new associations was found only for word pairs that had been presented in the animacy decision task during study. Experiment 3 showed that in order to obtain priming effects for new associations these associations have to be studied in a study task that is aimed at unitized processing of the word pair at a semantic level. Experiment 4 showed that processing the pairs as separate words at an orthographic level cancelled the priming effect. The results are explained by assuming that priming results from the overlap of features that are activated during both study and test.     

Sticky rules: integration between abstract rules and specific actions

The authors manipulated repetitions and/or changes of abstract response rules and the specific stimulus- response (S-R) associations used under these rules. Experiments 1 and 2, assessing trial-to-trial priming effects, showed that repetition of complete S-R couplings produced only benefits when the rule also repeated (i.e., rule-S-R conjunctions) but costs when identical S-R couplings repeated while rules changed. In Experiments 3 and 4, the authors manipulated amount of experience with specific rule-S-R conjunctions and demonstrated integration between rules and S-R couplings in terms of cumulative practice effects. However, unlike short-term priming effects, cumulative practice supported generalization of experience with specific S-R couplings across rule boundaries (Experiment 4). Results are discussed in terms of constraints on models of hierarchical control and in terms of qualitatively different ways in which people profit from very recent experiences (i.e., all-or-none access to working memory representations) versus cumulative experience (i.e., similarity-based retrieval from long-term memory).     

Transfer of orthogonal stimulus–response mappings to an orthogonal Simon task

When up–down stimulus locations are mapped to left–right keypresses, an overall advantage for the up–right/down–left mapping is often obtained that varies as a function of response eccentricity. This orthogonal stimulus–response compatibility (SRC) effect also occurs when stimulus location is irrelevant, a phenomenon called the orthogonal Simon effect, and has been attributed to correspondence of stimulus and response code polarities. The Simon effect for horizontal stimulus–response (S–R) arrangements has been shown to be affected by short-term S–R associations established through the mapping used for a prior SRC task in which stimulus location was relevant. We examined whether such associations also transfer between orthogonal SRC and Simon tasks and whether correspondence of code polarities continues to contribute to performance in the Simon task. In Experiment 1, the orthogonal Simon effect was larger after practising with an up–right/down–left mapping of visual stimuli to responses than with the alternative mapping, for which the orthogonal Simon effect tended to reverse. Experiment 2 showed similar results when practice was with high (up) and low (down) pitch tones, though the influence of practice mapping was not as large as that in Experiment 1, implying that the short-term S–R associations acquired in practice are at least in part not modality specific. In Experiment 3, response eccentricity and practice mapping were shown to have separate influences on the orthogonal Simon effect, as expected if both code polarity and acquired S–R associations contribute to performance.     

The consequences of language proficiency and difficulty of lexical access for translation performance and priming

Repetition priming was used to assess how proficiency and the ease or difficulty of lexical access influence bilingual translation. Two experiments, conducted at different universities with different Spanish–English bilingual populations and materials, showed repetition priming in word translation for same-direction and different-direction repetitions. Experiment 1, conducted in an English-dominant environment, revealed an effect of translation direction but not of direction match, whereas Experiment 2, conducted in a more balanced bilingual environment, showed an effect of direction match but not of translation direction. A combined analysis on the items common to both studies revealed that bilingual proficiency was negatively associated with response time (RT), priming, and the degree of translation asymmetry in RTs and priming. An item analysis showed that item difficulty was positively associated with RTs, priming, and the benefit of same-direction over different-direction repetition. Thus, although both participant accuracy and item accuracy are indices of learning, they have distinct effects on translation RTs and on the learning that is captured by the repetition-priming paradigm.     

Repeated Repetition Priming in Face Recognition

Prior exposure to an item can facilitate subsequent recognition of that item. This effect, known as repetition priming, has been found for the recognition of many stimuli including faces (Bruce & Young, 1986). Three experiments are reported, which investigated whether repetition priming is limited to the first repetition or whether subsequent repetitions continually act to increase the speed of face processing. Experiment 1 demonstrated that repetition can reduce categorization time for faces after the first exposure, and this effect is independent of practice effects. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the relationship between reaction time and number of repetitions fits a negative power function. Experiment 3 investigated how delay affects this power function. Delay was found to decrease the negative gradient of the power curve. The effects of priming and delay are discussed in terms of the predictions made by Burton's (1994) interactive activation and competition with learning (IACL) model of face recognition and accounts of automaticity.     

Action-effect binding by observational learning

The acquisition of bidirectional action–effect associations plays a central role in the ability to intentionally control actions. Humans learn about actions not only through active experience, but also through observing the actions of others. In Experiment 1, we examined whether action–effect associations can be acquired by observational learning. To this end, participants observed how a model repeatedly pressed two buttons during an observation phase. Each of the buttonpresses led to a specific tone (action effect). In a subsequent test phase, the tones served as target stimuli to which the participants had to respond with buttonpresses. Reaction times were shorter if the stimulus–response mapping in the test phase was compatible with the action–effect association in the observation phase. Experiment 2 excluded the possibility that the impact of perceived action effects on own actions was driven merely by an association of spatial features with the particular tones. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the presence of an agent is necessary to acquire novel action–effect associations through observation. Altogether, the study provides evidence for the claim that bidirectional action–effect associations can be acquired by observational learning. Our findings are discussed in the context of the idea that the acquisition of action–effect associations through observation is an important cognitive mechanism subserving the human ability for social learning.     

Word associations are formed incidentally during sentential semantic integration

Sentential context facilitates the incidental formation of word associations (e.g., Prior, A., & Bentin, S. (2003). Incidental formation of episodic associations: the importance of sentential context. Memory and Cognition, 31(2), 306-316). The present study explored the mechanism of this effect. In two experiments, unrelated word pairs were embedded in coherent or semantically anomalous sentences. Anomalous sentences included either a local or a global anomaly. During an incidental study phase, participants performed a sentence categorization task. The strength of the incidental associations formed between two nouns jointly appearing in a sentence was probed by gauging their influence on subsequent paired-associate learning and cued recall in Experiment 1, and by assessing their associative priming effect in a subsequent unexpected explicit recognition test for single words in Experiment 2. In both experiments, significant associative memory was found for noun pairs studied in coherent sentences but not for those appearing in anomalous sentences, regardless of anomaly type. In a sentence rating task, global anomalies yielded less plausible sentences than local anomalies, however both types of anomalies were equally detrimental to the sentence integration process. We suggest that sentence constituents are incidentally associated during sentence processing, particularly as a result of sentence integration and the consolidation of a mental model.     

Bidirectional priming in infants

In associative priming, the direct activation of one concept indirectly activates others that are associated with it, depending on the directionality of the association. We asked whether associative priming in preverbal infants is bidirectional. Infants associated a puppet imitation task with an operant train task by watching an adult model target actions on the puppet in the incidental context of the train. Later, priming of the forgotten memory of the train task reactivated the infants' memory of the puppet task (Experiment 1), and priming of the infants' forgotten memory of the puppet task reactivated their memory of the train task (Experiment 2). The finding that associative priming was bidirectional offers new insights into the nature of the mnemonic networks formed early in infancy. Additionally, the fact that the present association was formed rapidly and incidentally suggests that a fast mapping, general learning mechanism, like that posited to mediate word-object learning, was responsible for its encoding.     

Learning associations between action and perception: effects of incompatible training on body part and spatial priming

Observation of another person executing an action primes the same action in the observer's motor system. Recent evidence has shown that these priming effects are flexible, where training of new associations, such as making a foot response when viewing a moving hand, can reduce standard action priming effects (Gillmeister, Catmur, Liepelt, Brass, & Heyes, 2008). Previously, these effects were obtained after explicit learning tasks in which the trained action was cued by the content of a visual stimulus. Here we report similar learning processes in an implicit task in which the participant's action is self-selected, and subsequent visual effects are determined by the nature of that action. Importantly, we show that these learning processes are specific to associations between actions and viewed body parts, in that incompatible spatial training did not influence body part or spatial priming effects. Our results are consistent with models of visuomotor learning that place particular emphasis on the repeated experience of watching oneself perform an action.     

Instrument specificity in experienced musicians

Previous studies have shown that experienced pianists have acquired integrated action–effect (A–E) associations. In the present study, we were interested in how specific these associations are for the own instrument by investigating pianists and guitarists. A–E associations were examined by testing whether the perception of a “potential” action–effect has an influence on actions. Participants played chords on their instrument in response to visual stimuli, while they were presented task-irrelevant auditory distractors (congruent or incongruent) in varying instrument timbre. In Experiment 1, pianists exhibited an interference effect with timbres of their own instrument category (keyboard instruments: piano and organ). In Experiment 2 guitarists showed an interference effect only with guitar timbre. Thus, integrated A–E associations primarily seem to consist of a specific component on a sensory-motor level involving the own instrument. Additionally, categorical knowledge about how an instrument is played seems to be involved.     

Development of the acquisition and control of action-effect associations

Voluntary action is anticipatory and, hence, must depend on associations between actions and their perceivable effects. We studied the acquisition of action-effect associations in 4-5-vs. 7-year-old children. Children carried out key-pressing actions that were arranged to produce particular auditory effects. In a subsequent test phase, children were to press keys in response to the previous effect sounds, with the sound-key mapping being either consistent or inconsistent with previous key-sound practice. As the processes underlying voluntary action controls are known to significantly improve between 4 and 7 years of age, it was expected that younger children were more prone to automatic effects of acquired sound-key associations. This hypothesis was confirmed, but reaction times and accuracy measures showed different and dissociable patterns. Four-year-olds but not 7-year-olds were more likely to commit an error--i.e., to perform a sound-compatible rather than the correct action--if the sound-key mapping was inconsistent with previous practice. This effect strongly depended on previous practice, suggesting that it reflects long-term learning. In contrast, reaction time effects of mapping consistency did not depend on previous experience but only on the consistency between stimulus and action effect in the present task. Taken altogether, the results suggest that children acquire response-effect associations automatically and that younger children are more likely to suffer from frequent goal neglect; i.e., they tend to forget the current action goal, so that their behavior is dominated by automatic, stimulus-triggered response tendencies.