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Order of acquisition in learning perceptual categories: a laboratory analogue of the age-of-acquisition effect?

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Stewart, Neil, 1974- and Ellis, Andrew W.. (2008) Order of acquisition in learning perceptual categories: a laboratory analogue of the age-of-acquisition effect? Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, Vol.15 (No.1). pp. 70-74. ISSN 1069-9384

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3758/PBR.15.1.70

Abstract

In the age-of-acquisition (AoA) effect, an advantage for recognition and production is found for items learned early in life, as compared with items learned later. In this laboratory analogue, participants learned to categorize novel random checkerboard stimuli. Some stimuli were presented from the onset of training; others were introduced later. At test, when early and late stimuli had equal cumulative frequency, early stimuli were classified significantly more quickly. Because stimuli were randomly assigned to be introduced either early or late, we can conclude that early stimuli were categorized more quickly because of their order of acquisition. This finding suggests that age- or order-of-acquisition effects are a general property of any learning system.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Subjects:	L Education > LB Theory and practice of education B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Faculty of Science > Psychology
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Learning, Psychology of, Learning ability -- Testing, Perception -- Testing, Categorization (Psychology)
Journal or Publication Title:	Psychonomic Bulletin & Review
Publisher:	Psychonomic Society, Inc.
ISSN:	1069-9384
Date:	February 2008
Volume:	Vol.15
Number:	No.1
Number of Pages:	5
Page Range:	pp. 70-74
Identification Number:	10.3758/PBR.15.1.70
Status:	Not Peer Reviewed
Access rights to Published version:	Open Access
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URI:	http://wrap.warwick.ac.uk/id/eprint/616