Discontinuous categories affect information-integration but not rule-based category learning.
Three experiments were conducted that provide a direct examination of within-category discontinuity manipulations on the implicit, procedural-based learning and the explicit, hypothesis-testing systems proposed in F. G. Ashby, L. A. Alfonso-Reese, A. U. Turken, and E. M. Waldron's (1998) competition between verbal and implicit systems model. Discontinuous categories adversely affected information-integration but not rule-based category learning. Increasing the magnitude of the discontinuity did not lead to a significant decline in performance. The distance to the bound provides a reasonable description of the generalization profile associated with the hypothesis-testing system, whereas the distance to the bound plus the distance to the trained response region provides a reasonable description of the generalization profile associated with the procedural-based learning system. These results suggest that within-category discontinuity differentially impacts information-integration but not rule-based category learning and provides information regarding the detailed processing characteristics of each category learning system.
Maddox
W Todd
WT
Department of Psychology, 1 University Station A8000, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712, USA. maddox@psy.utexas.edu
Filoteo
J Vincent
JV
Lauritzen
J Scott
JS
Connally
Emily
E
Hejl
Kelli D
KD
D000328:Adult; D001245:Association Learning; D032882:Comprehension; D003210:Concept Formation; D003657:Decision Making; D004193:Discrimination Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D011337:Probability Learning; D011340:Problem Solving; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D011930:Reaction Time; D012718:Set, Psychology