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Related Experiment Videos

Asymptotic learning of alphanumeric coding in autobiographical memory.

Maryanne Martin1, Gregory V Jones

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Cognition
|March 24, 2006
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Memory for phone keypads improves with texting but then plateaus, suggesting learning is asymptotic, not just slow. This incidental learning stops as texting becomes automatic.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Memory Studies

Background:

  • Incidental learning in autobiographical memory studies is often observed at low levels.
  • Theorists debate whether low retention stems from a slow learning rate or asymptotic learning.
  • Widespread texting behavior provides a novel context to study learning over many opportunities.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether memory for the alphanumeric phone layout exhibits asymptotic learning.
  • To differentiate between a low learning rate and asymptotic learning in incidental memory.
  • To explore the relationship between task automaticity and incidental learning.

Main Methods:

  • Tracking memory performance for phone keypad layout across numerous texting instances.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analyzing memory error patterns using mathematical models, including power-law and asymptotic relations.
  • Correlating learning curves with the progression of texting behavior.

    • Main Results:

    • Memory for the alphanumeric phone layout improved significantly within the first 500 texts sent.
    • Performance improvements ceased after approximately 500 texts, indicating an asymptote.
    • Memory error data closely fit an asymptotic model, not a power-law model.

    Conclusions:

    • Incidental learning of the phone keypad layout is asymptotic, reaching a plateau.
    • The cessation of learning is linked to the development of automaticity in texting.
    • Task automaticity appears to inhibit further incidental memory formation.