Associative learning of abstract and concrete nouns and their subject-drawn pictorial representations.

Conducted 2 experiments to examine undergraduates' associative learning and pictorial representations of 48 concrete and 48 abstract noun pairs. In Exp. I, 24 Ss drew their own pictures of each noun. In Exp. II, another 24 Ss chose S-drawings that best represented their subjective meaning of the word referents. These Ss also received pretraining in labelling the S-drawings. Results from both experiments show that recall of noun pairs was superior to recall of S-drawn picture pairs. These findings conflict with the literature on picture and word paired-associate learning. In addition, concreteness of items facilitated recall. In Exp. I, concrete S-drawings were significantly better retrieval cues than abstract S-drawings. Results are discussed in terms of Pavio's theory of verbal and imagery processes of memory. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of concomitant colored and uncolored pictorial representations on the learning of stimulus words.

To study the effect of varying degrees of compounding signs of objects denoted by the words, twenty-five stimulus words were presented under three learning conditions: (a) Words alone, (b) words with their uncolored pictures, (c) words with their colored pictures. It was concluded that support was given the hypothesis that "with the number of presentations… held constant, the number of… words recalled by Ss should vary positively within limits with the number of simultaneously presented additional signs." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of pictorial integration on children's incidental learning.

Conducted 2 experiments to examine 192 8-, 11-, and 14-yr-old children's incidental learning with the central and incidental pictorial elements in each stimulus (a) presented as separate entities (standard condition), (b) depicted together in an action relation (2 types-weak action and strong action), or (c) depicted together in a static relation. Following a learning task in which attention to a single element in each stimulus was required, incidental learning was measured by having the S indicate the incidental feature associated with each central component. Results show that incidental learning was higher with the action than the standard materials, but the developmental trend in these scores was little affected by pictorial integration. While extending the generality of previous incidental learning results, these data contrast with evidence showing an increase with age in the effects of action portrayal on intentional learning of pictorial associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Illness representations and matching labels with symptoms.

Conducted 3 studies with 251 undergraduates in which Ss were presented with health-relevant information (e.g., blood pressure [BP] or symptoms). Study 1 showed that informing Ss that their BP was elevated affected 2 attributes of illness representation: identity (label and symptoms), and time line or expected chronology of the health threat. In Study 2, Ss used environmental cues to interpret whether familiar, unfamiliar, and ambiguous symptoms were due to illness or to stress. Study 3 showed that the constructive process, initiated by a high-BP reading, is directed by prior beliefs about the time line for developing high BP and by the presence of external cues about the stressfulness of daily life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are word representations abstract or instance-based? Effects of spelling inconsistency in orthographic learning.

In Experiment 1, 62 10-year-old children studied printed pseudowords with semantic information. The items were later represented in a different format for reading, with half of the items spelled in the same way as before and half displayed in a new phonologically equivalent spelling. In a dictation test, the exposure to an alternative spelling substantially increased the number of errors that matched the alternative spelling, especially in good spellers. Orthographic learning predicted word identification when accuracy on orthographic choice for words was controlled. In Experiment 2, the effects on dictation responses of exposure to a misspelling versus the correct spelling, and the interactive effect of spelling ability, were confirmed relative to a no-exposure control in adults. The results support a single-lexicon view of reading and spelling and have implications for abstractionist and instance-based theories of orthographic representations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental changes in the understanding of pictorial representations of sound.

Two studies examined understanding of pictures representing sound production among 112 3–6 yr olds. In Study 1, Ss labeled pictures as either showing sound or not; in Study 2, Ss chose which of a pair of pictures showed sound. Pictures varied as to the extent the representations were designed to be analogous to actual sound production in the environment. Different types of pictorial representation of sound were not equivalent in their ability to evoke a correct interpretation. Ss across the age range tested all understood the pictures that depicted postures associated with sound production in the environment. Pictures that relied on conventional or arbitrary representations of sound, such as lines radiating from a mouth, were less well understood by the younger Ss. Over the preschool years, however, there was substantial improvement in Ss' skill at interpreting these pictures. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stimulus context effects, associative strength, and word frequency as determiners of free recall in paired-associate learning.

Two levels of response word frequency and three levels of associative strength of paired-associates were used to form six lists. One level of low associative strength between pairs to be learned was created by re-pairing stimuli and responses from high associative strength lists. Both the high associative strength condition and the re-paired condition produced superior recall of response items. Results suggested that the development of response availability in paired-associate learning depends in part not only upon the strength of the initial relationship between each stimulus and response pair to be learned, but also upon the context provided by other stimuli in the list. The meaning of "present at input" in studies evaluating the principle of encoding specificity (Tulving & Thompson, 1973) was questioned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Configural processes in human associative learning.

The extent to which human discrimination learning is based on elemental or configural stimulus representations was examined in 7 experiments. In Experiments 1a and 1b, participants were able to learn nonlinear discrimination problems in a food-allergy task. In unique-cue theories, such learning is explained by individual stimulus elements acquiring independent connections with the outcome and also combining to form unique cues that function elementally. In Stage 1 of Experiments 2, 3, and 4a–c, Food A signaled an allergy outcome (O) (A?→?O) when presented alone but signaled no allergy (AB?→?no O) when paired with Food B. In Stage 2, Food B was paired with the allergy (B?→?0). In a test phase, the original discrimination between A and AB was found to be intact, at variance with the unique-cue theory. By contrast, in Experiments 5a, 5b, and 6, an effect of the B?→?O trials on the A–AB discrimination was observed with training procedures previously found by D. A. Williams (1995) to encourage elemental processing. Experiment 7 showed that the influence of B?→?0 trials on the A–AB discrimination was unaffected by pretreatments designed to foster an elemental processing strategy.… (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosodic phonological representations early in visual word recognition.

Two experiments examined the nature of the phonological representations used during visual word recognition. We tested whether a minimality constraint (R. Frost, 1998) limits the complexity of early representations to a simple string of phonemes. Alternatively, readers might activate elaborated representations that include prosodic syllable information before lexical access. In a modified lexical decision task (Experiment 1), words were preceded by parafoveal previews that were congruent with a target's initial syllable as well as previews that contained 1 letter more or less than the initial syllable. Lexical decision times were faster in the syllable congruent conditions than in the incongruent conditions. In Experiment 2, we recorded brain electrical potentials (electroencephalograms) during single word reading in a masked priming paradigm. The event-related potential waveform elicited in the syllable congruent condition was more positive 250-350 ms posttarget compared with the waveform elicited in the syllable incongruent condition. In combination, these experiments demonstrate that readers process prosodic syllable information early in visual word recognition in English. They offer further evidence that skilled readers routinely activate elaborated, speechlike phonological representations during silent reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some phenomena of associative learning in honeybees.

Two experiments present data on extinction in 111 free-flying honeybees previously reinforced for landing on distinctively colored and scented targets. A variety of phenomena familiar from the study of vertebrate learning, such as the overlearning-extinction effect, the partial reinforcement effect, overshadowing, summation, and conditioned inhibition, are described, and their significance is considered. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Feature- and rule-based generalization in human associative learning.

Two experiments examined the contributions of feature- and rule-based knowledge in a human associative learning task. Participants were presented with concurrent negative (A?→?O, B?→?O, AB?→?no O) and positive (C?→?no O, D?→?no O, CD?→?O) patterning problems in which certain combinations of foods were associated with an allergy outcome (O). In the test stage, some participants showed normal feature-based generalization to novel trial types, whereas other participants transferred the patterning rule (i.e., a compound and its elements signal opposite outcomes). Mastery of the discrimination presented in the training phase was strongly linked to rule-based generalization. The results suggest that models of human associative learning need to incorporate mechanisms for rule-based as well as for feature-based generalization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbalization effects in discrimination learning of pictures and words.

Compared discrimination learning of pairs of pictures (line drawings) and their verbal labels as a function of various verbalization conditions in a study with 128 undergraduates. Ss either (a) verbalized each item of a pair once (condition C1) or twice (condition C2), (b) verbalized the right item 3 times and the wrong item once (condition R), or (c) verbalized the right item once and the wrong item 3 times (condition W). The R and W conditions affected discrimination learning of both pictures and words in a way predictable from frequency theory, but pictures were easier to discriminate than words in conditions C1, R, and W. It is suggested that the results reflect the joint operation of verbal frequency and visual encoding processes in picture discrimination. (French summary) (17 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of similarity in human associative learning.

In 2 experiments, humans received sequences of patterns that were similar (AX→BX, AY→BY, AZ→BZ) or dissimilar (CX→DY, CY→DZ, CZ→DX). The patterns were portrayed as bugs that could be eliminated with 2 insecticide sprays (red or blue). Either spray eliminated bugs with Features A and C, and participants learned by trial and error to use one spray (e.g., red) to eliminate bugs with Feature B and the other spray (e.g., blue) to eliminate those with Feature D. In Experiment 1, participants' spray choice for bugs with Feature A came to match that used to eliminate bugs with Feature B, but there was no such associative transfer between Features C and D. That is, similarity promoted associative transfer of responding between paired patterns when the features used to manipulate similarity (i.e., X, Y, and Z) were irrelevant. In Experiment 2, in which X, Y, and Z were relevant to the solution of configural discrimination, similarity hindered such associative transfer. These results complement those found in pigeons (R. A. Rescorla & D. J. Gillan, 1980) and indicate that similarity should not be accorded independent status as a principle of associative learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nicotine enhances context learning but not context-shock associative learning.

Nicotine has been found to enhance learning in a variety of tasks, including contextual fear conditioning. During contextual fear conditioning animals have to learn the context and associate the context with an unconditioned stimulus (footshock). As both of these types of learning co-occur during fear conditioning, it is not clear whether nicotine enhances one or both of these types of learning. To tease these two forms of learning apart, the authors made use of the context preexposure facilitation effect (CPFE). Acquisition of the CPFE requires that contextual and context-shock learning occurs on separate days, allowing for their individual manipulation. Nicotine (0.09 mg/kg) administered prior to contextual learning and retrieval enhanced the CPFE whereas administration prior to context-shock learning and retrieval had no effect. Thus, nicotine enhances contextual learning but not context-shock associative learning. Finally, the results are discussed in terms of a theory of how nicotine could alter hippocampal-cortical-amygdala interactions to facilitate contextual learning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective attention in human associative learning and recognition memory.

Four experiments examined the role of selective attention in a new causal judgment task that allowed measurement of both causal strength and cue recognition. In Experiments 1 and 2, blocking was observed; pretraining with 1 cue (A) resulted in reduced learning about a 2nd cue (B) when those 2 cues were trained in compound (AB+). Participants also demonstrated decreased recognition performance for the causally redundant Cue B, suggesting that less attention had been paid to it in training. This is consistent with the idea that attention is preferentially allocated toward the more predictive Cue A, and away from the less predictive Cue B (e.g., N. J. Mackintosh, 1975). Contrary to this hypothesis, in Experiments 3 and 4, participants demonstrated poorer recognition for the most predictive cues, relative to control cues. A new model, which is based on N. J. Mackintosh's (1975) model, is proposed to account for the observed relationship between the extent to which each cue is attended to, learned about, and later recognized. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Metrifonate improves associative learning and retention in aging rabbits.

The cholinergic system is known to show deterioration during aging and Alzheimer's disease (AD). In response, a therapeutic approach to AD has been to attempt to compensate for the decrease in central cholinergic function by potentiating the activity of the remaining intact cholinergic cells with cholinesterase (ChE) inhibitors. In this study treatment with the long-lasting ChE inhibitor metrifonate facilitated acquisition and retention of eyeblink conditioning in aging rabbits. Metrifonate treatment resulted in steady-state, dose-dependent acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition in red blood cells. Maximal behavioral efficacy was achieved with AChE inhibition of approximately 40%, with no further improvements resulting from increased levels of inhibition. Metrifonate was behaviorally effective in the absence of the severe side effects that can plague ChE inhibitors, supporting metrifonate as a possible treatment for the cognitive deficits resulting from normal aging and AD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conflict adaptation by means of associative learning.

Cognitive control is responsible for adapting information processing in order to carry out tasks more efficiently. Contrasting global versus local control accounts, it has recently been proposed that control operates in an associative fashion, that is, by binding stimulus–response associations after detection of conflict (Verguts & Notebaert, 2009). Here, this prediction is explicitly tested for the first time. In a task-switching study where both tasks use the same relevant information, we previously reported conflict adaptation over tasks (Notebaert & Verguts, 2008). In the current experiment, we demonstrate that this is restricted to conditions where both tasks use the same effectors, thereby supporting the associative control account. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

On the nature and scope of featural representations of word meaning.

Behavioral experiments and a connectionist model were used to explore the use of featural representations in the computation of word meaning The research focused on the role of correlations among features, and differences between speeded and untimed tasks with respect to the use of featural information. The results indicate that featural representations are used in the initial computation of word meaning (as in an attractor network), patterns of feature correlations differ between artifacts and living things, and the degree to which features are intercorrelated plays an important role in the organization of semantic memory. The studies also suggest that it may be possible to predict semantic priming effects from independently motivated featural theories of semantic relatedness. Implications for related behavioral phenomena such as the semantic impairments associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of pictorial and written adjunct aids in learning from text.

Compared the effects of pictorial and written (questions) adjunct aids interspersed through text on factual recall. 63 undergraduates read 1 of the following forms of text: questions before relevant passage, questions after, pictures before, pictures after, questions and pictures before, questions and pictures after, no adjunct aids. Results show that reader-generated pictures and experimenter-provided questions were equally facilitative and resulted in increased retention over the control group. Question position effects characteristic of mathemagenic studies were replicated. Identical position effects were demonstrated for reader-generated pictures used as adjunct aids. Implications for mathemagenics and prose learning are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)