Abstract
The effect of a working-memory—demanding dual task on perceptual category learning was investigated. In Experiment 1, participants learned unidimensional rule-based or information integration category structures. In Experiment 2, participants learned a conjunctive rule-based category structure. In Experiment 1, unidimensional rule-based category learning was disrupted more by the dual working memory task than was information integration category learning. In addition, rule-based category learning differed qualitatively from information integration category learning in yielding a bimodal, rather than a normal, distribution of scores. Experiment 2 showed that rule-based learning can be disrupted by a dual working memory task even when both dimensions are relevant for optimal categorization. The results support the notion of at least two systems of category learning: a hypothesis-testing system that seeks verbalizable rules and relies on working memory and selective attention, and an implicit system that is procedural-learning based and is essentially automatic.
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This research was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grant R01 MH59196 to W.T.M.
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Zeithamova, D., Maddox, W.T. Dual-task interference in perceptual category learning. Memory & Cognition 34, 387–398 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193416
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193416