Effect of intermediate repeated items on immediate recall in a modified Hebb paradigm.

Abstract

Studies that used the Hebb paradigm have contributed to our understanding of the way in which short-term serial information is consolidated in long-term memory. However, it is unclear whether the learning of repeated series occurs solely within a serial context. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether the repetition of intermediate items in a given list is conducive to learning these items. We modified the Hebb paradigm by introducing repeated stimuli only in midlist positions. Letter lists were introduced in 4 different experimental conditions. Experiment 1 involved repetition of the intermediate items with participants who did not benefit from central item repetitions. In Experiment 2, only the first item was highlighted within the repeated intermediate series, and learning was restricted to just that item as opposed to the entire sequence. In Experiment 3, the repeated intermediate items were circled, and learning was observed exclusively within the highlighted series. Experiment 4 had no repeated sequences, and all intermediate items were circled; no learning effect of these items was observed. We conclude that the repetition of only the midlist items is insufficient to produce learning. Similarly, perceptual aspects were advantageous in the learning of repeated series. These findings may support future studies on the benefit of repetition and distinctiveness in serial learning.

Efecto de la contigüidad espacial sobre el aprendizaje de secuencias de posiciones

“…In general, errors occur more frequently in the central elements of the sequence. For this reason, Leite et al (2018) carried out four experiments to explore the experimental conditions that promote learning of central elements of a sequence. In a first experiment, they presented 36 lists of 9 consonants each.…”

“…The facilitating effect of the signal was lost. Research by Leite et al (2018) showed that the implementation of signaling strategies of central positions of a sequence favored its recall. It is a relevant finding since errors mostly occur in central positions.…”