title: Acquisition vs. memorization trade-offs are modulated by walking distance and pattern complexity in a large-scale copying paradigm.
abstract: In a "block-copying paradigm", subjects were required to copy a configuration of colored blocks from a model area to a distant work area, using additional blocks provided at an equally distant resource area. Experimental conditions varied between the inter-area separation (walking distance) and the complexity of the block patterns to be copied. Two major behavioral strategies were identified: in the memory-intensive strategy, subjects memorize large parts of the pattern and rebuild them without intermediate visits at the model area. In the acquisition-intensive strategy, subjects memorize one block at a time and return to the model after having placed this block. Results show that the frequency of the memory-intensive strategy is increased for larger inter-area separations (larger walking distances) and for simpler block patterns. This strategy-shift can be interpreted as the result of an optimization process or trade-off, minimizing combined, condition-dependent costs of the two strategies. Combined costs correlate with overall response time. We present evidence that for the memory-intensive strategy, costs correlate with model visit duration, while for the acquisition-intensive strategy, costs correlate with inter-area transition (i.e., walking) times.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology and Werner-Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. gregor.hardiess@uni-tuebingen.de
authors.forename: Gregor
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hardiess
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Basten
authors.forename: Hanspeter A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Mallot
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D046709:Pattern Recognition, Physiological; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D016138:Walking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult