Response feedback and verbal retention.

Abstract

A closed-loop theory of verbal learning was tested, where it is assumed that the sensory feedback from a response lays down the reference against which the correctness of future occurrences of the response is tested. A short-term memory (STM) paradigm was used, with consonant tetragrams as items. Experimental groups had interference with audio feedback, tactual-proprioceptive feedback, or both in acquisition and were compared with a control group having standard, unimpaired learning. Recall was without interference for all groups. It was hypothesized that feedback interference should affect retention, with experimental groups having poorer recall than the control group. The data supported the hypothesis. Adams (1967, Ch. 10;) has suggested a closed-loop hypothesis for learning that uses two kinds of habit: the memory trace, which is the habit bond between stimulus and response, and the perceptual trace, which is a sensory habit and a consequence of stimulation from the environment or response feedback. To illustrate for a verbal response, rehearsal defines the correct response and establishes a memory trace, which is the associative agent that fires the response when the eliciting stimulus is presented, and the proprioceptive, tactual, and auditory feedback stimuli from the response are the sensory agents that lay down perceptual traces. It is these perceptual traces that are'the internal references for response recognition against which the sensory feedback from subsequent responses are compared, error assessed, and the judgment about response correctness is made. In the same way, environmental stimuli lay down a perceptual trace as the reference for subsequent recognition of them.An implication of the hypothesis is that interference with one or more of the feedback loops during learning should attenuate the reference mechanism based on it, with the result that 5" should be less able to judge

Closed-loop theory and long-term retention.

“…In summary, we have tried to show in this paper and others (Adams & Bray, 1970;Adams et al, 1969) that verbal learning is a web of variables, which are best combined in a closed-loop theory, we believe, and that the forgetting of paired associates is caused by changes in these multiple influences over time and is not simply a loss of associative strength as established thinking would have it. We have no illusions about easily untangling these influences, but our measures rationalized by closed-loop theory show enough regularities to suggest the usefulness of the approach for the study of retention.…”

Consciousness and Self-Regulation

“…The entire body-not just a single system such as the speech musculature--is used in both verbal and nonverbal thought. Numerous other bodily activities and "parallel" processing systems occur during thought (d. McGuigan and Schoonover, 1973); the value of such redundant circuits has been pointed out by Adams, McIntyre, and Thorsheim (1969) in other contexts. Hence, even if the entire speech musculature were nonfunctional (which seldom occurs), remaining neuromuscular channels could probably carry on thought.…”

Verification processes in recognition memory: The role of natural language mediators

“…The perceptual representations of a response are essentially the memories of previous stimulation associated with that response. They may be from any sensory modality and may include proprioceptive feedback from the actual saying of the response (Adams, McIntyre & Thorsheim, 1969). A similar comparison process is assumed for stimulus term recognition as well.…”