Abstract
In two experiments, we demonstrated two types of strategies (rule-based and memory-based) and strategy transitions within the same binary classification task. The strategy that dominated later in practice depended on the difficulty of the operative classification rule and on the salience of the cue for that rule. Accuracy increased over practice trials, and response times were faster for the dominant strategy, either rule or memory. Rule retention was superior to stimulus item retention, so that, even for participants who preferred a memory-based strategy, a rule-based strategy dominated at least temporarily after a 1-week interval. Strategy use over trials and the retention interval reflected a given task’s affordance of a shift between rule- and memory-based processes.
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This research was supported in part by Army Research Institute Contracts DASW01-99-K-0002 and DASW01-03-K-0002 and Army Research Office Grant DAAG55-98-1-0214 to the University of Colorado. The fourth author also received support from the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program at the University of Colorado.
Note—This article was accepted by the previous editorial team, when Colin M. MacLeod was Editor.
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Bourne, L.E., Healy, A.F., Kole, J.A. et al. Strategy shifts in classification skill acquisition: Does memory retrieval dominate rule use?. Memory & Cognition 34, 903–913 (2006). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193436
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193436