Conceptualization of task boundaries preserves implicit sequence learning under dual-task conditions

Abstract

Implicit learning in the serial reaction time (SRT) task is sometimes disrupted by the presence of a secondary distractor task (e.g., Schumacher & Schwarb Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 138:270-290, 2009) and at other times is not (e.g., Cohen, Ivry, & Keele Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 16:17-30, 1990). In the present study, we used an instructional manipulation to investigate how participants' conceptualizations of the task affect sequence learning under dual-task conditions. Two experimental groups differed only in terms of the instructions and presequence training. One group was instructed that they were completing two separate tasks, whereas the other group was instructed that they were performing a single, integrated task. The separate group showed sequence learning, while the integrated group did not. These findings suggest that the conceptualization of task boundaries affects the availability of the sequential information necessary for implicit learning.