Learning of event sequences is based on response-effect learning: Further evidence from a serial reaction task

Four experiments provide converging evidence that serial learning in a seri al reaction task is based on response-effect learning, mediated by the lear ning of the relations between a response and the stimulus that follows it. In Experiment 1, the authors varied the stimulus sequence and the response- stimulus relations while holding the response sequence constant. Learning e ffects depended on the complexity of the response-stimulus relations but no t on the stimulus-stimulus relations. In Experiment 2, transfer of serial l earning from 1 stimulus sequence to another was only found when both sequen ces had identical response-stimulus relations. In Experiment 3, a variation of the stimulus sequence alone had no effect on serial learning, whereas i n Experiment 4 learning effects increased when the response-stimulus relati ons but not the stimulus-stimulus relations were simplified. These findings suggest that serial learning is based on mechanisms of voluntary action co ntrol.