Redington, M. & Chater, N. (1996). Transfer in artificial grammar learning:
A reevaluation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General,
125, 123-138.
Abstract
This paper considers methodological and theoretical issues in artificial
grammar learning. Arguments that such tasks are mediated by abstract
knowledge (e.g. Reber, 1969, 1990) are based primarily on evidence from
transfer experiments, where the surface vocabulary is changed between
learning and test items. We argue that because of a number of
methodological concerns, the small magnitudes of artificial grammar
learning effects generally are difficult to interpret. We discuss
possible solutions to these difficulties. We further argue that even
reliable transfer effects imply neither that subjects have acquired
abstract knowledge of the underlying grammar, nor that they are
performing a process of abstract analogy from memorized whole exemplars.
We show that models which learn only surface fragments of the training
stimuli, and perform abstraction at test, rather than during learning,
are wholly consistent with transfer phenomena.
Back to publications ...
Last modified: Jan 10, 1999