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Simplified learning in complex situations: knowledge partitioning in function learning
Stephan Lewandowsky1, Michael Kalish, S K Ngang
1School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Crawley. lewan@psy.uwa.edu.au
Journal of Experimental Psychology. General
|June 7, 2002
Summary
People simplify complex learning by partitioning knowledge into separate, sometimes contradictory, pieces. This context-specific learning helps manage intricate functions, especially non-linear ones.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Learning Science
- Decision Making
Background:
- Knowledge is often assumed to be integrated and consistent.
- However, individuals may hold independent knowledge parcels that can contradict each other.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the phenomenon of knowledge partitioning.
- To determine how contextual cues influence the learning and generalization of complex functions.
Main Methods:
- Four experiments utilized a function learning paradigm.
- A binary context variable was paired with a continuous stimulus variable representing a to-be-learned function.
- Participants learned quadratic and linear functions under different contextual conditions.
Main Results:
- Generalization of learning was context-specific when context predicted the slope of a quadratic function.
- Knowledge partitioning occurred with a decreasing linear function but not a linearly increasing function.
- Context appears to gate the learning of simpler, partial functions.
Conclusions:
- Individuals simplify complex learning tasks by acquiring independent parcels of knowledge.
- Contextual variables play a crucial role in gating and partitioning learned information.
- This partitioning strategy facilitates managing and simplifying complex functional relationships.