Physiology of Selective Attention
Abstract
We performed a pair of matched studies, on practice and repetition effects in speeded choice tasks, so that the relation of practice to repetition could be determined. In the paper dealing with practice, we reported a series of five experiments. In the first experiment, subjects performed 750 trials of a speeded choice task mapping different categories of symbols (e.g., letters, digits) onto different responses. We found excellent transfer to new items in the trained categories. However, when arbitrary sets of stimuli were mapped onto each response, subjects were much slower when new stimuli were introduced, even when the size of the potential stimulus set was held constant. To our surprise, responses to already-trained items were as slow as responses to new items. In our fourth experiment we used a mapping of categories to responses, and found that shuffling the assignment of stimuli to responses drastically slowed responses. However, changing to a spatially homologous mapping with responses on the other hand produced excellent transfer.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1992
- Accession Number
- ADA251946
Entities
People
- Gordon C. Baylis
- Harold E. Pashler
Organizations
- University of California, San Diego