The emergence of explicit knowledge during the early phase of learning in sequential reaction time tasks

Five experiments investigated the formation of explicit knowledge of a repeating sequence in a sequential reaction time task. Reliable explicit knowledge was obtained even though various conditions prevented the selective improvement of RTs (Exps. 1–4). This knowledge emerged early during training. Participants were able to recognize segments of the sequence (Exps. 3 and 4) or correctly assess the probabilities of transition of the target between successive locations (Exp. 5) after only two blocks of training trials. These findings rule out an interpretation of sequence learning that posits that explicit knowledge emerges from implicit knowledge during the course of training. Although these findings are compatible with a framework centered around the notion of dissociation between implicit and explicit knowledge, they are also consonant with a questioning of the usefulness of the concept of implicit knowledge.