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SUMMARY:Statistical learning of words and syntax: The role of learning con
 text and individual differences - Dr Patrick Rebuschat (University of Lanc
 aster)
DTSTART:20160310T160000Z
DTEND:20160310T173000Z
UID:TALK62081@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Theodora Alexopoulou
DESCRIPTION:Implicit learning\, essentially the process of acquiring uncon
 scious (implicit) knowledge\, is a fundamental feature of human cognition.
  Many complex behaviors\, including language comprehension and production\
 , music cognition\, intuitive decision making\, and social interaction\, a
 re thought to be largely dependent on implicit knowledge\, so it is not su
 rprising that interest in implicit learning spans practically all branches
  of cognitive science. Research on this topic can be found in two related\
 , yet completely distinct research strands\, namely "implicit learning" (R
 eber\, 1967) and "statistical learning" (Saffran\, Aslin\, & Newport\, 199
 6).\nIn this talk\, I will present the results of an experiment that bring
 s together methodological insights from both strands. The objective was to
  investigate further the role of providing subjects with explicit knowledg
 e prior to artificial language exposure and to identify cognitive variable
 s that predict learning outcomes (working memory\, declarative memory\, ex
 ecutive function). Subjects were exposed to the artificial language by mea
 ns of Monaghan et al.’s (2014) cross-situational learning paradigm. The 
 advantage of this innovative paradigm is that it permits tracking of the l
 earning trajectory\, as opposed to only relying on post-exposure testing. 
 We used retrospective verbal reports to determine what strategies followed
  in the learning task and whether they became aware of rules or patterns. 
 Results indicate that provision of prior knowledge significantly boosts le
 arning and that declarative memory accounts for a substantial amount of va
 riance. Awareness of the learning target was not required\, as aware and u
 naware subjects clearly showed a learning effect overall\, but it did appe
 ar to affect the learning trajectory\, with aware subjects performing abov
 e chance significantly earlier. Implications for language learning researc
 h will be discussed. \n
LOCATION:GR05\, English Faculty Building\, 9 West Road\, Sidgwick Site
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