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The spacing effect in remote information-integration category learning.

Authors :
Cruz, Anthony
Minda, John Paul
Source :
Memory & Cognition. Oct2024, Vol. 52 Issue 7, p1653-1672. 20p.
Publication Year :
2024

Abstract

The present experiments examined whether the temporal distribution of procedural category learning experiences would impact learning outcomes. Participants completed the remote category learning experiments on a smartphone in one of two learning conditions: massed or distributed. Consistent with expectations, distributed learners in both experiments reached higher accuracy levels than massed learners. In Experiment 1 the effect disappeared after accounting for reaction time differences, suggesting that it was driven by attentional mechanisms. In Experiment 2, the spacing advantage was only present for previously studied items during a post-learning test, suggesting a role of consolidation. In both experiments, it seems likely that temporal spacing helped participants discover the optimal information-integration categorization strategy. These results suggest that adult category learning is facilitated by temporal spacing. Future work may further explore the effects of temporal and contextual distinctiveness of learning experiences on category learning outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
0090502X
Volume :
52
Issue :
7
Database :
Academic Search Index
Journal :
Memory & Cognition
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
180590076
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.3758/s13421-024-01569-w