In accord with structural alignment theory, same-category comparison opportunities within a classification learning task should promote relational category acquisition. However, a straightforward merging of the classification paradigm with copresentation of same-category item pairs does not yield an advantage relative to an equal number of…

In evaluative conditioning, if one shape (conditional stimulus [CS]; CSp) is paired with pleasant unconditional stimulus (US) images and another (CSu) is paired with unpleasant US images differential CS valence and US expectancy develops, such that participants evaluate the CSp as more pleasant and more predictive of pleasant images than the CSu.…

Research on study sequences has not considered the cross-classification of to-be-learned categories. In two experiments, we utilized cross-classified exemplars, which simultaneously belonged to categories of two orthogonal dimensions. Experiment 1 addressed the question of how interleaving one category dimension while simultaneous blocking another…

In rule-based (RB) category-learning tasks, the optimal strategy is a simple explicit rule, whereas in information-integration (II) tasks, the optimal strategy is impossible to describe verbally. This study investigates the effects of two different category properties on learning difficulty in category learning tasks--namely, linear separability…

The congruence effect can be modulated by adjacent conflict conditions, producing the congruency sequence effect (CSE). However, many boundary conditions prevent the transfer of the cross-conflict CSE. A consensus has been achieved that the CSE reflects both top-down control and bottom-up associative learning, but neither perspective could…

How do humans adapt to parametric changes in a task without having to learn a new skill from scratch? Many studies of memory and sensorimotor adaptation have proposed theories that incorporate a decay on prior events, which leads the agent to eventually forget old experiences. This study investigates if a similar decay mechanism can account for…

A challenge for listeners is to learn the appropriate mapping between acoustics and phonetic categories for an individual talker. Lexically guided perceptual learning (LGPL) studies have shown that listeners can leverage lexical knowledge to guide this process. For instance, listeners learn to interpret ambiguous /s/-/[esh]/ blends as /s/ if they…

Delayed feedback during categorization training has been hypothesized to differentially affect 2 systems that underlie learning for rule-based (RB) or information-integration (II) structures. We tested an alternative possibility: that II learning requires more precise item representations than RB learning, and so is harmed more by a delay interval…

Contemporary theories of metacognitive monitoring propose that beliefs play a critical role in monitoring of learning. Even so, recent evidence suggests that beliefs are not always sufficient to impact people's monitoring. In seven experiments, we explored people's beliefs about the impact of mood and item valence on memory and whether people use…

The authors introduce the contextual multi-armed bandit task as a framework to investigate learning and decision making in uncertain environments. In this novel paradigm, participants repeatedly choose between multiple options in order to maximize their rewards. The options are described by a number of contextual features which are predictive of…

The episodic context account of retrieval-based learning proposes that retrieval enhances subsequent retention because people must think back to and reinstate a prior learning context. Three experiments directly tested this central assumption of the context account. Subjects studied word lists and then either restudied the words under intentional…

Choosing between options characterized by multiple cues can be a daunting task. People may integrate all information at hand or just use lexicographic strategies that ignore most of it. Notably, integrative strategies require knowing exact cue weights, whereas lexicographic heuristics can operate by merely knowing the importance order of cues.…

Objects learned within single enclosed spaces (e.g., rooms) can be represented within a single reference frame. Contrarily, the representation of navigable spaces (multiple interconnected enclosed spaces) is less well understood. In this study we examined different levels of integration within memory (local, regional, global), when learning object…

What happens to memories as we forget? They might gradually lose fidelity, lose their associations (and thus be retrieved in response to the incorrect cues), or be completely lost. Typical long-term memory studies assess memory as a binary outcome (correct/incorrect), and cannot distinguish these different kinds of forgetting. Here we assess…

The strength of conclusions about the adoption of different categorization strategies--and their implications for theories about the cognitive and neural bases of category learning--depend heavily on the techniques for identifying strategy use. We examine performance in an often-used "information-integration" category structure and…