INDIRECT LEARNING OF EVENT SEQUENCES - THE EFFECTS OF DIVIDED ATTENTION AND STIMULUS CONTINUITY

In a serial reaction time (SRT) task, the learning curve is steeper wh en the stimuli are presented in a repeating sequential manner rather t han in random order (Nissen & Bullemer, 1987). This is true even when subjects report being unaware of the presence of the repeating sequenc e. The present study examines the nature of this learning under condit ions designed to reduce attentional resources and to disrupt the conti nuity of stimuli. In the first three experiments, subjects were traine d in the SRT task, with or without the addition of a secondary tone co unting task, and with repeating or non-repeating sequences. The result s suggest that some sequence learning occurred despite the presence of a secondary task. Experiment 4 examined the extent of sequence learni ng when the inter-stimulus interval was varied between trials. The ove rall results suggest that despite reduced attentional allocation and d iscontinuous stimulus presentation, some sequence learning occurs. Thi s result supports other work suggesting a dissociation between learnin g when measured explicitly, and when assessed through performance indi cators.