Four experiments with male rats investigated perceptual learning involving a tactile dimension (A, B, C, D, E), where A denotes 1 end of the continuum (e.g., a rough floor) and E the other (e.g., a smooth floor). In Experiment 1, rats given preexposure to A and E learned an appetitive discrimination between them more readily than those not given preexposure. Experiment 2a showed that rats preexposed to B and D acquired a discrimination between A and E more readily than those preexposed to A and E; and in Experiment 2b the same preexposure treatments had no effect on the acquisition of a discrimination between B and D. In Experiments 3a and 3b, rats given preexposure to C learned a discrimination between A and E more readily than those not given preexposure. Experiment 4 demonstrated that preexposure to a texture (e.g., B) that was adjacent to the to-be-discriminated textures (e.g., C and E) facilitated a discrimination between them relative to preexposure to their midpoint (D). These novel perceptual learning effects are interpreted as reflecting a redistribution of processing between the notional elements of the texture dimension.

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For decades, the field of workplace selection has been dominated by evidence that cognitive ability is the most important factor in predicting performance. Meta-analyses detailing the contributions of a wide-range of factors to workplace performance show that cognitive ability’s contribution is partly mediated by the learning of task-relevant skills and job-specific declarative knowledge. Further, there is evidence to suggest that this relationship is a function of task complexity, and partially mediated by learning performance in workplace induction and training activities. Simultaneously, evidence is mounting that stable individual differences in implicit learning exist, which are at least partially independent of traditional measures of intelligence. In this article we provide an overview of recent advances in our understanding of implicit learning, outline some of the advantages offered by its measurement, and highlight some of the challenges associated with its adoption as a measure of interest.

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