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What is learned during automatization? II. Obligatory encoding of spatial location
1Department of Psychology, University of Ilinois at Urbana-Champaign 61820, USA. glogan@s.psych.uiuc.edu
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance
|December 23, 1998
Summary
This study shows that people remember where words appear during automaticity training, supporting the instance theory of automaticity. Location memory is encoded even when tasks become automatic.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Memory Studies
- Automaticity Research
Background:
- The instance theory of automaticity posits that repeated practice leads to the creation of memory instances, facilitating faster response times.
- Understanding how location information is encoded during automatization is crucial for validating theories of cognitive skill acquisition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether location information is encoded during the automatization of visual search tasks.
- To test a key prediction of the instance theory of automaticity regarding the role of location memory.
Main Methods:
- Six experiments involved participants searching 1- or 2-word displays for target categories.
- Training involved consistent target locations, followed by a transfer phase with changed locations.
- Implicit and explicit memory tests assessed sensitivity to location changes.
Main Results:
- Sensitivity to location changes was influenced by the number of possible word locations (2 vs. 16).
- Implicit memory sensitivity varied with the number of words presented (1 vs. 2), but explicit memory did not.
- Participants demonstrated memory for word locations during automatization.
Conclusions:
- The findings support the instance theory of automaticity by demonstrating that location information is encoded during skill automatization.
- This encoding of location contributes to the automatic processing of information, even when explicit awareness is not required.