title: Stimulus dependence in probabilistic category learning.
abstract: The current study investigates whether probabilistic categorization on the Weather Prediction task involves a single, modality/domain general learning mechanism or there are modality/domain differences. The same probabilistic categorization task was used in three modalities/domains and two modes of presentation. Cues consisted of visual, auditory-verbal or auditory-nonverbal stimuli, and were presented either sequentially or simultaneously. Results show that while there was no general difference in performance across modalities/domains, the mode of presentation affected them differently. In the visual modality, simultaneous performance had a general advantage over sequential presentation, while in the auditory conditions, there was an initial advantage of simultaneous presentation, which disappeared, and in the non-verbal condition, gave over to a sequential advantage in the later stages of learning. Data suggest that there are strong peripheral modality effects; however, there are no signs of modality/domain of stimuli centrally affecting categorization.
authors.affiliation: Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Department of Cognitive Science, Budapest, Hungary. fkemeny@cogsci.bme.hu
authors.forename: Ferenc
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kemény
authors.forename: Agnes
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lukács
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003463:Cues; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D011337:Probability Learning; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult