Implicit learning: Sensitive to age but not IQ

Abstract

According to Reber (1992), implicit learning should vary only minimally with age and intelligence quotient (IQ), whereas explicit learning should depend heavily on both age and IQ. To evaluate these predictions, children from two age groups (5–7 yean and 10–12 years) were selected to form low, medium, and high IQ subgroups. They were then tested on an implicit and an explicit learning task. The implicit task, adapted from Lewicki (1986), used a number of 4 × 4 matrices which displayed 16 pictures in different arrangements. One picture was of a house, and the children were required to learn the incidental covariation of (a) the experimenter's side of approach (left or right), with the house positioned in the upper or lower half of the matrix; and (b) the colour of the matrix board and cover (red or blue), with the house positioned in the left or right half of die matrix. The explicit task had a similar logical structure to the implicit task, but (a) was implemented using different stimulus dimensions; (b) was presented so that the stimulus dimensions were not only salient, but were also explicitly identified to the children; and (c) used instructions that identified the nature of the rules to be learned, ensuring that learning was intentional. The reported results are inconsistent with the claim that age differences exist only in explicit learning, since implicit learning also improved significandy with age. However, the results are consistent with the claim mat implicit learning is invariant of, whereas explicit learning covaries with, IQ. The study is discussed in the context of the applicability of the implicit‐explicit distinction, and like distinctions, to theories of cognitive development

Visual search and contextual cueing: differential effects in 10-year-old children and adults

“…While the majority of previous research suggests that there is little development of implicit learning across childhood (e.g., Don, Schellenberg, Reber, DiGirolamo, & Wang, 2003;Meulemans et al, 1998;Thomas & Nelson, 2001;Thomas et al, 2004), there have been a few implicit learning studies that have suggested developmental differences (Maybery, Taylor, & O'Brien-Malone, 1995;Thomas & Nelson, 2001;Thomas et al, 2004;Vaidya et al, 2007). Thus, in the experiments presented in this study it is possible that developing implicit learning is contributing to overall learning.…”

Implicit motor learning through observational training in adults and children

“…Age differences should thus be observed in observationalmotor implicit learning. In support of this hypothesis, it is worth pointing out that the single study reporting a deficit in children compared with adults in an implicit learning task used a task based on perceptual judgments without motor involvement (Maybery, Taylor, & O'Brien-Malone, 1995).…”

Evidence for knowledge of the syntax of large numbers in preschoolers

“…First, it has been demonstrated that this kind of learning is based on processes that remain unaffected by developmental differences and, thus, is perfectly efficient in preschoolers (Meulemans, Van der Linden, & Perruchet, 1998;Vinter & Perruchet, 2000; but see Maybery, Taylor, & O'Brien-Malone, 1995). Second, the studies evoked above indicate that people can become sensitive to subtle environmental regularities such as frequent co-occurrences and perhaps syntactic rules.…”