Mechanisms underlying the emergence of consciously aware knowledge in an implicit learning task

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Hilde Haider
• Subject Area: General, Cognitive and Mathematical Psychology
• Term: from 2014 to 2018
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 265015646

In the field of implicit learning research, it is a highly debated question how conscious awareness about a sequence arises in an implicit learning situation. Two classes of theories can be contrasted in the literature: According to the first class, explicit representations result from strengthening of implicit representations. Thus, this class presumes quantitative differences between implicit and explicit representations. On the contrary, the second class postulates qualitative differences between implicit and explicit knowledge. As an example, the Unexpected-Event Hypothesis (UEH; Haider & Frensch, 2005) belongs to this second class of theories. It presumes that implicit knowledge leads to behavioral changes which might violate the expectations. This violation then triggers explicit search processes which in turn lead to consciously accessible knowledge. The goal of the proposed experiments is to test these two classes of theories against each other.In the first series of experiments, we manipulate the strength of implicitly acquired knowledge by, for instance, the repetition rate of the sequence within a certain context. According to the first class of theories, this should increase consciously accessible sequence knowledge. However, should the UEH apply, we should be able to show that an additional violation of expectations is needed in order to increase conscious knowledge. The second series of experiments then focuses on response-effect learning (R-E learning) which might increase the probability of experiencing a violation of expectancies. For instance, the findings of Hoffmann and colleagues (2001) suggest that increasing attention to response effects increases the amount of explicit knowledge. Furthermore, Keele et al. (2003) suggest that R-E learning might differ from S-S and R-R learning in terms of the underlying representation. R-E learning is assumed to be based on inter-dimensional learning processes because reactions are associated with events in the distal environment. By contrast, S-S and R-R learning results from representations within one single dimension. Therefore, the goal of the second series of experiments is to manipulate the R-E contingencies in an implicit learning situation while S-S and R-R contingencies are kept constant. We presume that conscious knowledge about S-S- and R-R sequences should increase if ones own actions contingently lead to certain events in the distal environment. Overall, the planned experiments contribute to our understanding of consciousness and the mechanisms underlying the emergence of consciously accessible knowledge in an implicit learning situation.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Michael Rose