Working Memory Capacity and Generalization in Predictive Learning

Andy J. Wills, Thomas J. Barrasin, Ian P.L. McLaren

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference proceedings published in a bookpeer-review

Abstract

The relationship between working memory and deliberative processing was examined in a human contingency learning experiment that employed the combined positive and negative patterning procedure of Shanks and Darby (1998). Participants with a large working memory capacity showed generalization consistent with the application of an opposites rule (i.e., a compound and its elements signal opposite outcomes), whilst individuals with a small working memory capacity showed generalization consistent with surface similarity. Working memory capacity was assessed via the Operation Span task (Turner & Engle, 1989). Implications for associative, inferential, and dual-process accounts of human learning are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationExpanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011
EditorsLaura Carlson, Christoph Hoelscher, Thomas F. Shipley
PublisherThe Cognitive Science Society
Pages3205-3210
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9780976831877
Publication statusPublished - 2011
Event33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science, CogSci 2011 - Boston, United States
Duration: 20 Jul 201123 Jul 2011

Publication series

NameExpanding the Space of Cognitive Science - Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, CogSci 2011

Conference

Conference33rd Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society: Expanding the Space of Cognitive Science, CogSci 2011
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityBoston
Period20/07/1123/07/11

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Computer Science Applications
  • Human-Computer Interaction
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

Keywords

  • associative learning
  • deliberative processing
  • generalization
  • rules
  • working memory

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