IMPLICIT SEQUENCE LEARNING IN CHILDREN

The main purpose of the present study was to examine whether implicit learning abilities, assessed by means of a serial reaction time task, are present to the same extent in 6- and 10-year-old children as in ad ults. We also wondered whether the knowledge acquired after one learni ng session is retained after a 1-week delay. And finally, we studied t he explicit knowledge developed by the children in this task. Our resu lts show no age-related difference in the serial reaction lime perform ance, which is consistent with the idea that implicit learning abiliti es may be efficient early in development. (C) 1998 Academic Press.