Evidence for a procedural-learning-based system in perceptual category learning

Abstract

The consistency of the mapping from category to response location was investigated to test the hypothesis that abstract category labels are learned by the hypothesis testing system to solve rule-based tasks, whereas response position is learned by the procedural-learning system to solve information-integration tasks. Accuracy rates were examined to isolate global performance deficits, and model-based analyses were performed to identify the types of response strategies used by observers. A-B training (consistent mapping) led to more accurate responding relative to yes-no training (variable mapping) in the information-integration category learning task. Model-based analyses indicated that the yes-no accuracy decline was due to an increase in the use of rule-based strategies to solve the information-integration task. Yes-no training had no effect on the accuracy of responding or distribution of best-fitting models relative to A-B training in the rule-based category learning tasks. These results both provide support for a multiple-systems approach to category learning in which one system is procedural-learning-based and argue against the validity of single-system approaches.