The role of visuospatial and verbal working memory in perceptual category learning

Abstract

The role of verbal and visuospatial working memory in rule-based and information-integration category learning was examined. Previously, Maddox, Ashby, Ing, and Pickering (2004) found that a sequentially presented verbal working memory task did not affect information-integration learning, but disrupted rule-based learning when the rule was on the spatial frequency of a Gabor stimulus. This pattern was replicated in Experiment 1, in which the same category structures were used, but in which the verbal working memory task was replaced with a visuospatial analog. Experiment 2A examined rule-based learning on an oblique orientation and also found both verbal and visuospatial working memory tasks disrupting learning. Experiment 2B examined rule-based learning on a cardinal orientation and found a minimal effect of the verbal working memory task, but a large effect of the visuospatial working memory task. The conceptual significance of cardinal orientations and the role of visuospatial and verbal working memory in category learning are discussed. Copyright 2007 Psychonomic Society, Inc.