Abstract
The present research investigated the effects of physical context change and perceptual learning on generalization. In a video game, participants learned to suppress their mouse-clicking behavior in the presence of one stimulus (AX). Generalization was observed between the AX stimulus and another stimulus (BX) that was designed to be similar. When testing was conducted in a context different from that in which AX was used in training, responding to AX was attenuated, and responding to BX was enhanced. That is, the generalization gradient flattened. The latter effect was only evident in groups for which generalization had been reduced through a preexposure manipulation believed to produce perceptual learning. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the increase in generalization observed in the first experiment was due to the context change between the preexposure and test rather than to a change between the conditioning and test contexts. Implications for flattening generalization gradients and mechanisms of perceptual learning are discussed.
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This research was supported by a Ramon y Cajal fellowship awarded to J.B.N. by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Culture, and Sport, and by a postdoctoral grant awarded to M.d.C.S. from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sport (Programa de becas postdoctorales en Espaã y en el extranjero, reference EX2002-0812).
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Nelson, J.B., Sanjuan, M.d.C. Flattening generalization gradients, context, and perceptual learning. Learning & Behavior 36, 279–289 (2008). https://doi.org/10.3758/LB.36.4.279
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/LB.36.4.279