Interleaving Effects in Blindfolded Perceptual Learning Across Various Sensory Modalities. 2023

Roman Abel
Institute of Education Research, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany.

Research on sequence effects on learning visual categories has shown that interleaving (i.e., studying the categories in a mixed manner) facilitates category induction as compared to blocking (i.e., studying the categories one by one), but learners are unaware of the interleaving effect and prefer blocking. However, little attention has been paid to sequence effects in perceptual learning across further sensory modalities. The present (preregistered) research addresses this shortcoming by using auditory (birdcalls), olfactory (tealeaves), gustatory (ingredient mixtures), and tactile (stones) stimuli across four analog experiments. The number of participants per experiment was determined based on a medium effect size of interleaving. Participants studied six categories (with six exemplars, respectively) either interleaved or blocked. No single experiment showed a significant effect of interleaving. We ran a comprehensive meta-analysis based on the data from all experiments, which revealed a significant small effect of interleaving, demonstrating its applicability to perceptual learning across all sensory modalities. Learners in the interleaved condition underestimated their classification performance. Overall, learners did not rate interleaving as less effective than blocking, which is at odds with previous studies that consistently demonstrated a metacognitive preference of blocking. Our findings suggest that learners rely less on conventional beliefs about the effectivity of study sequence when dealing with unfamiliar (blindfolded) perceptual learning tasks.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D007858 Learning Relatively permanent change in behavior that is the result of past experience or practice. The concept includes the acquisition of knowledge. Phenomenography
D003210 Concept Formation A cognitive process involving the formation of ideas generalized from the knowledge of qualities, aspects, and relations of objects. Concept Acquisition,Concept Learning,Conceptualization,Acquisition, Concept,Acquisitions, Concept,Concept Acquisitions,Formation, Concept,Learning, Concept
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000067489 Metacognition Awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes. Meta-cognition,Meta-cognitive Awareness,Meta-cognitive Control,Meta-cognitive Monitoring,Meta-emotion,Meta-memory,Metacognitive Awareness,Metacognitive Control,Metacognitive Knowledge,Metacognitive Monitoring,Metaemotion,Metamemory,Awareness, Meta-cognitive,Awareness, Metacognitive,Knowledge, Metacognitive,Meta cognition,Meta cognitive Awareness,Meta cognitive Control,Meta cognitive Monitoring,Meta emotion,Meta memory,Meta-cognitive Awarenesses,Meta-cognitive Controls,Meta-cognitive Monitorings,Meta-memories,Metacognitive Awarenesses,Metacognitive Controls,Metacognitive Knowledges,Metaemotions,Metamemories,Monitoring, Metacognitive
D001288 Attention Focusing on certain aspects of current experience to the exclusion of others. It is the act of heeding or taking notice or concentrating. Focus of Attention,Selective Attention,Social Attention,Attention Focus,Attention, Selective,Attention, Social,Selective Attentions
D012903 Smell The ability to detect scents or odors, such as the function of OLFACTORY RECEPTOR NEURONS. Olfaction,Sense of Smell,Smell Sense

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