Initial training with difficult items does not facilitate category learning

Edmunds, C.E.R ORCID: 0000-0002-0524-8756, Wills, A.J and Milton, F (2019) 'Initial training with difficult items does not facilitate category learning.' Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 72 (2). pp. 151-167.

Abstract

In the phenomenon of transfer along a continuum (TAC), initial training on easy items facilitates later learning of a harder discrimination. TAC is a widely replicated cross-species phenomenon that is well predicted by certain kinds of associative theory. A recent report of an approximately opposite phenomenon (i.e., facilitation by initial training on hard items) poses a puzzle for such theories, but is predicted by a dual-system model (COVIS). However, across four experiments, we present substantial evidence that this counterintuitive finding was in error. Rather, the result appears to be a false positive and, as such, should not form part of the evidence base for COVIS nor be considered as a counter-example to the pervasive TAC phenomenon.

Item Type:	Article
Keywords:	categorisation, transfer along a continuum, implicit, explicit
Divisions:	School of Sciences
Date Deposited:	17 Oct 2022 12:59
Last Modified:	04 Aug 2023 05:30
ISSN:	1747-0218
URI / Page ID:	https://researchspace.bathspa.ac.uk/id/eprint/15015

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