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An examination of the processes underlying implicit learning

This thesis examined the processes underlying implicit learning. Six candidate components thought to be involved in implicit learning were identified: task demands, affordances of experimental materials, subjects????? intentions, content of knowledge, form of representation and awareness. A series of 15 experiments are reported that investigated the learning in the invariant digit, invariant clocks, and the artificial grammar task in an attempt to determine the role of these six components. The empirical findings were interpreted as supporting the view that learning under implicit task conditions: i) is interactive and not passive, ii) does not result in the acquisition of a default representation of knowledge, but that any structure remains latent within an experience until appropriate retrieval cues are provided at test, and iii) does not proceed ?????outside????? awareness but that the lack of insight that often accompanies learning is due to poor understanding about the basis of performance. A framework was proposed that demonstrated how this pattern of objective performance and subjective experience arises, through the interaction of the candidate components. This framework is more consistent with a process-oriented view (e.g. Whittlesea & Wright, 1997) than a separate systems account of implicit learning (e.g. Reber, 1989).

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/187818
Date January 2000
CreatorsNewell, Ben, Psychology, Faculty of Science, UNSW
PublisherAwarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Psychology
Source SetsAustraliasian Digital Theses Program
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
RightsCopyright Ben Newell, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright

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