ERIC Number: EJ1165878
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Jan
Pages: 8
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-7393
EISSN: N/A
The Acquisition of Simple Associations as Observed in Color-Word Contingency Learning
Lin, Olivia Y.-H.; MacLeod, Colin M.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, v44 n1 p99-106 Jan 2018
Three experiments investigated the learning of simple associations in a color-word contingency task. Participants responded manually to the print colors of 3 words, with each word associated strongly to 1 of the 3 colors and weakly to the other 2 colors. Despite the words being irrelevant, response times to high-contingency stimuli and to low-contingency stimuli quickly diverged. This high-low difference remained quite constant over successive blocks of trials, evidence of stable contingency learning. Inclusion of a baseline condition--an item having no color-word contingency--permitted separation of the contingency learning effect into 2 components: a cost due to low contingency and a benefit due to high contingency. Both cost and benefit were quick to acquire, quick to extinguish, and quick to reacquire. The color-word contingency task provides a simple way to directly study the learning of associations.
Descriptors: Associative Learning, Learning Processes, Contingency Management, Color, Interference (Learning), Reaction Time, Visual Stimuli, Task Analysis, Evaluation Methods, Experiments, College Students, Foreign Countries, Error Patterns, Statistical Analysis
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Stroop Color Word Test
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A