Different time courses of maturation for learning and generalization following auditory training in children
Y Zaltz1,2, L Kishon-Rabin1, A Karni3,4
1Department of Communication Disorders, The Steyer School of Health Professions, Faculty of Medical & Health Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Objective:
We recently demonstrated that learning abilities among school-age children vary following frequency discrimination (FD) training, with some exhibiting mature adult-like learning while others performing poorly (non-adult-like learners). This study tested the hypothesis that children's post-training generalisation is related to their learning maturity. Additionally, it investigated how training duration influences children's generalisation, considering the observed decrease with increased training in adults.
Design:
Generalisation to the untrained ear and untrained 2000 Hz frequency was assessed following single-session or nine-session 1000 Hz FD training, using an adaptive forced-choice procedure. Two additional groups served as controls for the untrained frequency.
Study Sample:
Fifty-four children aged 7-9 years and 59 adults aged 18-30 years.
Results:
(1) Only adult-like learners generalised their learning gains across frequency or ear, albeit less efficiently than adults; (2) As training duration increased children experienced reduced generalisation, similar to adults; (3) Children's performance in the untrained tasks correlated strongly with their trained task performance after the first training session.
Conclusions:
Auditory skill learning and its generalisation do not necessarily mature contemporaneously, although mature learning is a prerequisite for mature generalisation. Furthermore, in children, as in adults, more practice makes rather specific experts. These findings should be considered when designing training programs.
