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The redundancy effect in human causal learning: No evidence for changes in selective attention
Peter M Jones1, Tara Zaksaite1
1School of Psychology, Plymouth University, Plymouth, UK.
Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology (2006)
|July 12, 2017
Summary
The redundancy effect shows blocked cues form stronger associations than uncorrelated cues. Eye-tracking experiments suggest attention differences may not fully explain this learning phenomenon.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Learning and Memory
Background:
- Recent studies highlight a 'redundancy effect' in associative learning, where blocked cues form stronger associations than uncorrelated cues.
- This effect challenges existing learning models, prompting investigations into attentional mechanisms.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of overt attention in the redundancy effect using eye-tracking.
- To determine if changes in attention during learning can account for the differential associative strength of redundant cues.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments employed eye-tracking to measure participants' overt attention (gaze duration) during a learning task designed to elicit the redundancy effect.
- Participants learned associations involving blocked and uncorrelated redundant cues.
Main Results:
- Gaze duration was initially longer for uncorrelated cues compared to blocked cues.
- This difference in gaze duration diminished when normalized by trial duration.
- Experiment 2 found no difference in gaze duration when blocked and uncorrelated cues were presented together.
Conclusions:
- While attention differences might play a role in initial learning, they do not appear to be the primary driver of the redundancy effect.
- The findings suggest that other mechanisms, beyond overt attention, are likely responsible for the observed redundancy effect in associative learning.
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