Developmental differences in effects of task pacing on implicit sequence learning

Amanda S. Hodel,Sara E. Van Den Heuvel,Julie C. Markant,Kathleen M. Thomas,Jenie M. Cirilli-Raether

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00153

Amanda S. Hodel, Sara E. Van Den Heuvel + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00153

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Abstract

Although there is now substantial evidence that developmental change occurs in implicit learning abilities over the lifespan, disparate results exist regarding the specific developmental trajectory of implicit learning skills. One possible reason for discrepancies across implicit learning studies may be that younger children show an increased sensitivity to variations in implicit learning task procedures and demands relative to adults. Studies using serial-reaction time (SRT) tasks have suggested that in adults, measurements of implicit learning are robust across variations in task procedures. Most classic SRT tasks have used response-contingent pacing in which the participant's own reaction time determines the duration of each trial. However, recent paradigms with adults and children have used fixed trial pacing, which leads to alterations in both response and attention demands, accuracy feedback, perceived agency, and task motivation for participants. In the current study, we compared learning on fixed-paced and self-paced versions of a spatial sequence learning paradigm in 4-year-old children and adults. Results indicated that preschool-aged children showed reduced evidence of implicit sequence learning in comparison to adults, regardless of the SRT paradigm used. In addition, we found the preschoolers showed significantly greater learning when stimulus presentation was self-paced. These data provide evidence for developmental differences in implicit sequence learning that are dependent on specific task demands such as stimulus pacing, which may be related to developmental changes in the impact of broader constructs such as attention and task motivation on implicit learning.

Highlights

Implicit learning has been defined broadly as a sensitivity to patterns, regularities, sequential information, and/or statistical dependencies in the environment that largely takes place outside of conscious awareness
Results from serialreaction time (SRT) tasks with adults have suggested that measurements of this form of implicit learning are robust across many variations in task procedures
SRT tasks are a widely accepted measure of implicit learning in adults, only a small number of studies have been conducted investigating implicit learning using this paradigm in children or adolescents

Summary

Introduction

Implicit learning has been defined broadly as a sensitivity to patterns, regularities, sequential information, and/or statistical dependencies in the environment that largely takes place outside of conscious awareness (see reviews by Cleeremans et al, 1998; Perruchet and Pacton, 2006). Theories of implicit learning postulated that because implicit learning is a fundamental, adaptive cognitive mechanism, it should recruit evolutionarily basic brain regions and demonstrate early maturation (Reber, 1993). Subsequent research has confirmed that implicit learning mechanisms do generally utilize so-called evolutionarily primitive brain regions such as the basal ganglia (e.g., Rauch et al, 1997; BischoffGrethe et al, 2004) and do appear early in development (i.e., during infancy, see Canfield and Haith, 1991; Saffran et al, 1997; Kirkham et al, 2002). In the adult implicit learning literature, the classic serialreaction time (SRT) task (Nissen and Bullemer, 1987) remains one of the most widely accepted measures of implicit learning. Over time individuals show evidence of sequence specific learning, as demonstrated by faster reaction times on sequence trials in comparison to random trials

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