ONE-TRIAL LEARNING - PREDICTIONS ABOUT NEGATIVE TRANSFER

One-trial learning, though experienced by many has received minimal at tention in motor learning research. As previous study in our laborator y provided some support, the present study was designed to follow-up b y examining whether there is no expected negative transfer or response competition. 24 subjects were randomly assigned to a Response-Replace ment or Stimulus-Replacement group in an ABAB learning study. Prior to testing subjects learned a list of eight S-R pairs to a criterion of two consecutive error-free trials. The stimuli were eight 3-letter non sense syllables while responses were specific hand signs taken from th e Gallaudet Survival Guide to Signing. Once the list had been learned, subjects transferred to a condition in which either three responses o r three stimuli were replaced. Subjects were to learn this new list to a criterion of one error-free trial. Once they learned, subjects perf ormed three additional test trials on the new list, without intervenin g acquisition trials, to assess negative transfer from the old list to the new list. The response-replaced group required significantly more acquisition trials than did the stimulus-replaced group. No significa nt difference in errors postcriterion between the groups was found. Th e findings were consistent with Guthrie's (1952) expectations, in that once the new response had been learned, there was no retroactive inte rference from the initial list.