Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
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

Related Experiment Videos

Effects of a secondary task on "implicit" sequence learning: learning or performance?

David R Shanks1, Shelley Channon

  • 1Department of Psychology, University College London, Gower St., London WC1E 6BT, UK. d.shanks@ucl.ac.uk

Psychological Research
|July 23, 2002
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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

Does Overconfidence Really Confer Adaptive Benefits to Children's Learning?

Psychological science·2026
Same author

Nothing to see here: The weak evidence base for unconscious control of human behavior.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2026
Same author

Investigating the analytical robustness of the social and behavioural sciences.

Nature·2026
Same author

Replicating the unconscious working memory effect: a multisite Registered Report.

Neuroscience of consciousness·2026
Same author

Good Learners Are Poor Monitors: A Negative Relation Between Learning Ability and Monitoring Accuracy.

Psychological science·2025
Same author

Studying unconscious processing: Contention and consensus.

The Behavioral and brain sciences·2025
Same journal

Musical training increases anticipatory responding and predictive control in sequence learning.

Psychological research·2026
Same journal

When emotions hurt: negative interpretations of bodily signals and interoceptive difficulties in fibromyalgia.

Psychological research·2026
Same journal

Emotion-specific modality effects in auditory and visual perception of emotion.

Psychological research·2026
Same journal

The effect of retrieval practice on incidental memory is modulated by emotional valence: evidence of ERPs.

Psychological research·2026
Same journal

The length of a piece of string: Where the whole is more than the sum of its constituent parts.

Psychological research·2026
Same journal

The influence of older age, individual differences in cognitive abilities, and state of mind on learning novel categories.

Psychological research·2026
See all related articles

Implicit learning, traditionally defined by unawareness, may require attentional resources. Two experiments show sequence learning is affected by task conditions during training, challenging attention-free theories.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Learning Sciences

Background:

  • Implicit learning is often defined by a lack of awareness.
  • An alternative definition suggests implicit learning occurs without demanding attentional resources.
  • This study investigates the role of attention in implicit sequence learning.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the hypothesis that implicit learning proceeds without attentional demands.
  • To provide disconfirmatory evidence against the attention-free definition of implicit learning.
  • To examine the impact of single- vs. dual-task conditions on sequence learning.

Main Methods:

  • Two experiments utilized a sequential reaction time task.
  • A tone-counting secondary task was employed to manipulate attentional load.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Sequence learning was measured under single- and dual-task conditions during training and testing.

    • Main Results:

    • Sequence learning measures were significantly affected by training conditions (single- vs. dual-task).
    • This effect persisted regardless of whether testing occurred under single- or dual-task conditions.
    • Findings indicate that attentional resources are involved in implicit sequence learning.

    Conclusions:

    • The results challenge the notion that implicit learning is entirely independent of attentional resources.
    • Implicit sequence learning appears to be modulated by attentional demands during the learning phase.
    • Further research is needed to refine definitions and understand the role of attention in implicit learning.