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Testing the skill-based approach: Consolidation strategy impacts attentional blink performance
Corné Hoekstra1, Sander Martens2, Niels A Taatgen1
1Bernoulli Institute for Mathematics, Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
Plos One
|January 21, 2022
Summary
Cognitive models can be improved by reusing procedural knowledge, like skills. This skill-based approach explains fast learning and reduces the attentional blink (AB) when targets are consolidated.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Computational Neuroscience
- Psychology
Background:
- Human rapid learning of new tasks suggests procedural knowledge reuse.
- Existing cognitive models may lack robustness and generalizability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and validate a skill-based approach for cognitive modeling.
- To investigate the attentional blink (AB) using this novel approach.
- To test if consolidating targets as a single chunk eliminates the AB.
Main Methods:
- Developed a skill-based cognitive model.
- Conducted two experiments to test model predictions regarding the attentional blink.
- Manipulated target consolidation strategies in participants.
Main Results:
- An initial experiment failed to replicate the disappearance of the AB under syllable instruction.
- A second experiment, using easily combinable stimuli, demonstrated a significantly reduced AB.
- This reduction aligns with the skill-based model's prediction for consolidated targets.
Conclusions:
- The skill-based approach offers a promising framework for enhancing cognitive models.
- Consolidation strategies can mitigate or eliminate the attentional blink.
- This approach facilitates the generalization of cognitive model findings across different tasks.
