Jove
Visualize
Contact Us

Related Experiment Videos

Competition among causes but not effects in predictive and diagnostic learning.

M R Waldmann1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Germany. michael.waldmann@bio.uni-goettingen.de

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|February 22, 2000
PubMed
Summary

People understand cause and effect directionality during learning, favoring causal-model theory over simple associative learning. This research demonstrates sensitivity to causal status in learning and inference.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Predictive versus diagnostic causal learning: evidence from an overshadowing paradigm.

Psychonomic bulletin & review·2001
Same author

Estimating causal strength: the role of structural knowledge and processing effort.

Cognition·2001
Same author

Determining whether causal order affects cue selection in human contingency learning: comments on Shanks and Lopez (1996)

Memory & cognition·1997
Same author

Predictive and diagnostic learning within causal models: asymmetries in cue competition.

Journal of experimental psychology. General·1992
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Learning and Memory
  • Causal Inference

Background:

  • Causal asymmetry (causes precede effects) is fundamental to the physical world.
  • A debate exists between causal-model theory (people grasp causal direction) and associative theories (learning is cue-outcome association).

Purpose of the Study:

  • To empirically differentiate between causal-model theory and associative theories of learning.
  • To investigate whether learning mechanisms are sensitive to causal directionality.

Main Methods:

  • Four experiments utilized asymmetries in cue competition.
  • These experiments were designed to distinguish between predictive and diagnostic inferences.
  • The study tested implications derived from causal-model theory against alternative accounts.

Related Experiment Videos

Main Results:

  • Cue competition was found to interact with causal status, contradicting associative theories.
  • Participants demonstrated an ability to differentiate between predictive and diagnostic inferences.
  • Empirical tests consistently supported causal-model theory over associative accounts.

Conclusions:

  • Human learning is sensitive to causal directionality, supporting causal-model theory.
  • Associative theories alone do not fully explain how people learn causal relationships.
  • The findings highlight the importance of causal structure in cognitive processes.