title: Learning complex sequences: no role for observation?
abstract: Two experiments examined performance in a sequence learning task. Participants were trained on a repeating sequence which was presented as a visual display and learning was measured via the increase in reaction time to respond to a new sequence. Some participants made a response to each stimulus while others merely observed the sequence. In Experiment 1 participants responding to the display via a keypress showed learning, but those merely observing did not. Five possible reasons for the failure to find observational learning were considered and the Experiment 2 attempted to resolve these. This second experiment confirmed the findings of Experiment 1 in a non-spatial sequence display using a cover story which encouraged attention to the display but not rule-search strategies. The results are discussed in relation to applied and theoretical aspects of implicit learning.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, Alexandra House, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK. steve.kelly@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: S W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Burton
mesh_terms: D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D019370:Observation; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011582:Psychological Theory; D011930:Reaction Time