Identifying Long- and Short-Term Processes in Perceptual Learning

作者：Yang, Jia; Yan, Fang-Fang; Chen, Lijun; Fan, Shuhan; Wu, Yifan; Jiang, Lei; Xi, Jie; Zhao, Junlei; Zhang, Yudong; Lu, Zhong-Lin^*; Huang, Chang-Bing^*

来源：Psychological Science, 2022, 33(5): 830-843.

DOI：10.1177/09567976211056620

• perceptual learning
• long-term memory
• off-line gain
• forgetting
• adaptation
• relearning
• learning form
• open data

Practice makes perfect in almost all perceptual tasks, but how perceptual improvements accumulate remains unknown. Here, we developed a multicomponent theoretical framework to model contributions of both long- and short-term processes in perceptual learning. Applications of the framework to the block-by-block learning curves of 49 adult participants in seven perceptual tasks identified ubiquitous long-term general learning and within-session relearning in most tasks. More importantly, we also found between-session forgetting in the vernier-offset discrimination, face-view discrimination, and auditory-frequency discrimination tasks; between-session off-line gain in the visual shape search task; and within-session adaptation and both between-session forgetting and off-line gain in the contrast detection task. The main results of the vernier-offset discrimination and visual shape search tasks were replicated in a new experiment. The multicomponent model provides a theoretical framework to identify component processes in perceptual learning and a potential tool to optimize learning in normal and clinical populations.

• 单位
  中国科学院; 6