Abstract
This study examined whether being aware of the repetition of stimuli in a simple numerosity task could aid the development of automaticity. The numerosity task used in this study was a simple counting task. Thirty-four participants were divided into two groups. One group was instructed that the stimuli would repeat many times throughout the experiment. The results showed no significant differences in the way automatic processing developed between the groups. Similarly, there was no correlation between the point at which automatic processing developed and the point at which participants felt they benefitted from the repetition of stimuli. These results suggest that extra-trial features of a task may have no effect on the development of automaticity, a finding consistent with the instance theory of automatisation.
Highlights
It is commonly observed that repeatedly practicing a task can lead to a change in performance over time from slow and deliberate to fast and seemingly without thought (Epstein & Lovitts, 1985; Logan, 1988; Wilkins & Rawson, 2011)
The purpose of this study was to investigate whether bringing awareness to extra-trial information can improve the speed at which automaticity developed
Given the evidence that where attention is directed during the performance of a task can determine whether or not automaticity is developed, it was hypothesised that prior awareness of the repetition of stimuli in the dot counting task could aid the speed of developing automatic processing
Summary
It is commonly observed that repeatedly practicing a task can lead to a change in performance over time from slow and deliberate to fast and seemingly without thought (Epstein & Lovitts, 1985; Logan, 1988; Wilkins & Rawson, 2011). Automatic processing occurs without a person’s control, without capacity limits, without necessarily demanding attention and develops over time with much practice of a task (Epstein & Lovitts, 1985; Logan, 1988; Logan, 1990). Evidence for the transition from controlled to automatic processing after practice has been found in many simple cognitive tasks including alphabet-arithmetic, lexical decision, Stroop paradigms, relative judgement, categorization, visual search, and dual-task scenarios (Augustinova, Flaudias & Ferrand, 2010; Hélie, Waldschmidt & Ashby, 2010; Hommel & Eglau, 2002; Loft, Humphreys & Neal, 2004; Logan, 1990; Logan & Klapp, 1991; Shiffrin & Schneider, 1984)
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