Change One Category at a Time: Sequence Effects beyond Interleaving and Blocking

Autor/inn/en	Abel, Roman; Brunmair, Matthias; Weissgerber, Sophia Christin
Titel	Change One Category at a Time: Sequence Effects beyond Interleaving and Blocking
Quelle	In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 47 (2021) 7, S.1083-1105 (23 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Zusatzinformation	ORCID (Abel, Roman)
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0278-7393
DOI	10.1037/xlm0001003
Schlagwörter	Classification; Learning; Adults; College Students; Change + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Classification system; Klassifikation; Klassifikationssystem; Lernen; Collegestudent; Wandel
Abstract	Research on study sequences has not considered the cross-classification of to-be-learned categories. In two experiments, we utilized cross-classified exemplars, which simultaneously belonged to categories of two orthogonal dimensions. Experiment 1 addressed the question of how interleaving one category dimension while simultaneous blocking another category dimension affects the induction of the simultaneously blocked category dimension. Experiment 2 examined our proposed mechanism by manipulating the degree of change (one-category vs. cross-category change) and the frequency of change (high vs. low) in the presentation sequence of exemplars with cross-classified characteristics. In Experiment 1, sequences that combined interleaving one dimension while blocking the other dimension were superior to sequences that provided no comparison opportunities when classifying both interleaved and blocked categories. This revealed a carry-over effect of interleaving: blocked and interleaved categories were equally well classified. Our findings are incompatible with the discriminative contrast hypothesis and the attentional bias framework, where interleaving is not assumed to support within-category comparisons. We explain the results according to the principle of "change one category at a time" (COCAT). Interleaving exemplars on one category dimension, but blocking them on another category dimension, enables learners to reliably map the distinctive features onto the covarying categories and the shared features onto the constant category. In contrast, there is a risk of confounding common characteristics when no comparison opportunities are given. Likewise, pure interleaving impedes category induction by confounding changing characteristics. Accordingly, Experiment 2 demonstrated that as long as a sequence implemented the COCAT principle, learners accurately identify diagnostic feature sets. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2024/1/01