What Is Learned During Automatization? The Role of Attention in Constructing an Instance

• Published in: Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition Vol. 20; no. 5; pp. 1022 - 1050
• Main Authors: Logan, Gordon D, Etherton, Joseph L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychological Association 01-09-1994
• Subjects: Attention; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Cognitive Processes; Divided Attention; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Human; Learning; Learning. Memory; Memory; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Social research; Learning; Human; Automation; Acquisition process; Attention; Information processing; Cognition; Experimental study
• ISSN: 0278-7393; 1939-1285
• DOI: 10.1037/0278-7393.20.5.1022

Seven experiments were conducted to examine the role of attention in automatization. Ss searched 2-word displays for members of a target category in divided-attention, focused-attention, and dual-task conditions. The main issue was whether attention conditions would affect what Ss learned about co-occurrences of the words in the displays. The attention hypothesis, derived from the instance theory of automaticity, predicts learning of co-occurrences in divided-attention and dual-task conditions in which Ss attend to both words but not in focused-attention conditions in which Ss only attend to 1 word. The data supported the attention hypothesis and therefore the instance theory.