Delayed exposure to configural information in nonmetric multiple-cue probability learning

Abstract

The effects of delayed exposure to relevant configural information were studied. Three groups were run for 480 trials in a two-cue nonmetric multiple-cue probability learning task. All groups had one relevant cue dimension. One group had no relevant configural information, while another always had relevant configural information. The third group began without relevant configural information and was switched to relevant configural information after trial 120. The switched group did learn to utilize the configural information, but not nearly as strongly as the group which always had relevant configural information. A follow-up study explored the effects of the length of the delay before exposure to the relevant configural information. Four groups were run under the above conditions but were switched at trial 40, 80, 120, or 200, respectively. The results replicated the effect for the group switched at trial 120 and showed no differences between the four groups, indicating that the effect of delayed exposure is constant and requires little delay.