Acquiring a Cognitive Skill With a New Repeating Version of the Tower of London Task.

A computerized version of the Tower of London task was used to investigate cognitive skill learning. Thirty-six healthy volunteers were assigned to either a random condition (nonrecurring problems), or to a sequence condition in which, unbeknownst to the subjects, a repeating sequence of three probl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 272 - 289
Main Authors: Ouellet, Marie-Christine, Beauchamp, Miriam H., Owen, Adrian M.
Format: Article
Published: Canadian Psychological Association December 2004
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Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
Description
Summary:A computerized version of the Tower of London task was used to investigate cognitive skill learning. Thirty-six healthy volunteers were assigned to either a random condition (nonrecurring problems), or to a sequence condition in which, unbeknownst to the subjects, a repeating sequence of three problems was presented. Indices of execution, planning, and total time, as well as number of moves performed, were used to measure behavioural change. Subjects' performance improved in both conditions across blocks of practice. A distinct learning effect related to the repeating sequence was also observed. This suggests that a specific skill that reflects procedural learning of the strategies, rules, and procedures pertaining to repeating problems can develop over and above a more general skill at solving cognitive planning problems with practice. Reprinted by permission of the publisher.