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The development of automaticity in short-term memory search: Item-response learning and category learning
Rui Cao1, Robert M Nosofsky1, Richard M Shiffrin1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University Bloomington.
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|December 9, 2016
Summary
Short-term memory search performance improves with training. Item-response learning occurs rapidly, while category learning is slower but enhances search efficiency long-term.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human Memory
Background:
- Short-term memory (STM) search tasks involve judging probe presence in study lists.
- Consistent-mapping (CM) training leads to efficient STM search by fixing target/foil roles.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate long-term learning mechanisms behind efficient STM search under CM training.
- Differentiate between item-response learning and category learning in STM search.
Main Methods:
- Tested participants in categorized varied mapping (CV) conditions.
- Manipulated category type (arbitrary vs. prelearned) and switching costs.
Main Results:
- Arbitrary categories in CV conditions mirrored standard varied-mapping performance, supporting item-response learning.
- Prelearned categories in CV conditions resembled CM performance, supporting category coding with reduced switching costs.
Conclusions:
- Item-response learning is rapid and an initial mechanism in CM training.
- Category learning is slower but ultimately enhances STM search efficiency beyond item-response learning.
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