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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 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

Official Date:

February 2008

Dates:

Date	Event
February 2008	Published

Volume:

Vol.15

Number:

No.1

Number of Pages:

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Not Peer Reviewed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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