Theme 6: Implicit memory and skill learning Flashcards
declarative memory
memory than can be described in words
non-declarative memory
memory that is hard to describe in words
what comes first cogn. skills or perceptual motor skills?
in general, the development of perceptual motor skills precede the development of cognitive skills
power law or practice
learning is quick at first, then slow
massed practice vs spaced practice
concentrated continuous practice vs practice spread out over long term
constant vs variabel practice
practice with a limited set of materials or skills vs a more varied set of materials and skills
serial reaction time tasks
pressing a key as soon as a visual cue indicates which one to press
Fitts’ three stages to skill learning:
1) cognitive stage = active thinking to encode the skill
2) associative stage = use of stereotyped actions to perform the skill
3) autonomous stage = less dependent on memories and movements have become automatised
rotary pursuit task
having to keep the end of a pointed stick above a target drawn on a rotating disk (usually used to measure perceptual motor learning)
genetic influence on skills
the more practice people have, the more their performance differences are due to genetic differences
transfer specificity
restricted applicability of some learned skills to specific situations
identical elements theory (Thorndyke)
transfer of learned abilities to novel situations depends on the number of elements int he new situation that are identical to the learning situation
learning set formation
acquiring the ability to learn novel tasks rapidly based on frequent experiences with similar task
brain substrates for learning:
basal ganglia, cerebral cortex and cerebellum: cortical areas –> basal ganglia –> thalamus –> brain stem
function basal ganglia
-important for perceptual motor skill
