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Related Experiment Videos

Implicit (and explicit) learning: acting adaptively without knowing the consequences

B W Whittlesea1, R L Wright

  • 1Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada. bruce_whittlesea@sfu.ca

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|January 1, 1997
PubMed
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Implicit learning involves active mental organization, not passive absorption of environmental structure. This challenges prior assumptions about how the brain learns, suggesting active processing underlies both conscious and unconscious learning.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Learning Sciences

Background:

  • Implicit learning is often viewed as passive memory absorption of environmental structures.
  • This perspective suggests the brain unselectively encodes domain structures, even without awareness.
  • Previous research implies a passive model for unconscious knowledge acquisition.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To challenge the passive absorption model of implicit learning.
  • To investigate the active organizational processes in implicit learning.
  • To propose a unified framework for learning with and without awareness.

Main Methods:

  • Subjects were exposed to structured domains, with variations in incidental stimulus properties.
  • Task and stimulus structure were systematically controlled.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Behavioral responses to stimuli variations were analyzed to infer processing strategies.

    • Main Results:

    • Subjects' processing of stimuli varied qualitatively based on incidental properties, even with constant task structure.
    • This indicates active, rather than passive, engagement with the stimuli.
    • Learning is not solely based on absorbing environmental structure.

    Conclusions:

    • Implicit learning involves active organization of stimuli, akin to explicit learning.
    • Passive absorption is an inaccurate model for implicit knowledge acquisition.
    • A unified theory of learning, integrating conscious and unconscious processes, is proposed.