Awareness, conditioning, and information processing in complex learning situations

Lindahl, Maj-Britt. Awareness, conditioning, and information processing in complex learning situations. Scand. J. Psychol., 1973, 14, 121–130.-Learning without awareness was studied with a method involving three phases for each of 2. 10 subjects: (1) a problem solving phase, (2) a phase of applying the solution found in (1), and (3) a test phase. In (2) the solution was applied to the classification of 50 successively presented instances. These were in one condition sampled so that a perceptually easily discriminable basis of classification obtained that was different from and redundant to the one of the solution of phase (1). The results of the test phase showed that this redundant basis of classification influenced the performance of the subjects in this condition despite unawareness of it according to verbal reports. The phenomenon was interpreted as a case of learning without awareness, describable in conditioning terms, that influenced performance. The limitations of this type of learning were discussed, and its relationship to an aware information processing type of learning was outlined.     

Concept learning and the intradimensional spread of the relevant values of the instances II. Effects of extreme values and position of class border

Abstract.— Thirty subjects took part in a concept-learning-like experiment with instances. the values of which varied continuously intradimensionally, which in turn resulted in continuously varyicg intradimensional differences between instances belonging to different classes. The results were construed as supporting the hypothesis that with subjects attending selectively to specific before-the-eyes characteristics of the instances, one hypotheses testing routine may be described as follows: Step 1: The subjects select and test intradimensional differences for relevance in the order of their relative sizes, and Step 2: on finding some such differences presumably relevant proceed to hypothesize midpoints or other easily registerable points on the involved dimension as class borders. This routine was thought to integrate various lines of thought within concept learning dealing with the effects on learning of intradimensional value separation, "obviousness" and relative frequencies of relevant attributes. It was also thought to represent a memory structure, and its relevance to some reasonings within memory research was pointed out.     

Concept learning and the intradimensional spread of the relevant values of the instances I. Effects of intraclass variability

Abstract.— The effect on concept learning of the intra-class variability of the relevant values of the instances was investigated. 20 subjects took part, and two ranges of the concerned intraclass variability, one about twice the other, were used. Depending upon the learning strategy used by the subjects the smaller intraclass variability was shown to have a limited facilitating effect on concept learning. Some facilitation thus occurred when strategies involved a rather unselective attention to the appearance characteristics of the instances but not when they involved selective focusing on these characteristics, or on elements of relevant knowledge established pre-experimentally. The results were discussed in relation both to relevant S-R-conceptions and information processing models of concept learning. It was concluded that automatic generalization as described in S-R-theories might have to be integrated into the information processing models for some categories of learning.     

Towards a co-ordination of conditioning and information-processing mechanisms within the field of human learning

Abstract.— A delimitation of the fields of application of conditioning and information-processing models was attempted. The delimitation was made in relation to two psychological dimensions, a perception-conception dimension and a selectivity-of-attention dimension. It depicted conditioning models as more applicable the more perceptually-loaded and attentionally non-selective the lzarning attempts, and information-processing models as more applicable the more conceptually-loaded and attentionally selective the learning attempts. Three assumptions were made concerning the intra-individual coordination of conditioning and information-processing mechanisms of learning. Conditioning and hypotheses-testing were, for instance, assumed to be encoding processes functioning in a parallel way and resulting in products, which may fuse when retrieved and used in efferent processes.     

Emotion and cognition in vicarious instigation research

Abstract.— It is argued that the vicarious instigation research would benefit from integrating phenomena and distinctions acknowledged within emotion psychology and cognitive psychology. In particular, suggestions are made which aim at increasing the specificity of terminological, methodological, and interpretational aspects of vicarious instigation research.