The basis of transfer in artificial grammar learning

In two experiments, we examined the extent to which knowledge of sequential dependencies and/or patterns of repeating elements is used during transfer in artificial grammar learning. According to one view of transfer, learner s abstract the grammar's sequential dependencies and then learn a mapping t o new vocabulary at test (Dienes, Altmann, & Gao, 1999). Elements that are repeated have no special status on this view, and so a logical prediction i s that learners should transfer as well after exposure to a grammar without repetitions as after exposure to a grammar with them. On another view, rep etition structure is the very basis of transfer (Brooks & Vokey, 1991; Math ews & Roussel, 1997). Learners were trained on grammars with or without rep eating elements to test these competing views. Learners demonstrated consid erable knowledge of sequential dependencies in their training vocabulary bu t did not use such knowledge to transfer to a new vocabulary. Transfer only occurred in the presence of repetition structure, demonstrating this to be the basis of transfer.