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Publication
Statistical learning of motor preparation
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
Statistical learning, the process of extracting regularities from the environment, is one of the most fundamental abilities playing an essential role in almost all aspects of human cognition. Previous studies have shown
that attentional selection is biased toward locations that are likely to contain a target and away from locations
that are likely to contain a distractor. The current study investigated whether participants can also learn to
extract that a specific motor response is more likely when the target is presented at specific locations within
the visual field. To that end, the additional singleton paradigm was adapted such that when the singleton
target was presented at one specific location, one response (e.g., right index finger) was more likely than
the other (e.g., right middle finger) and the reverse was true for another location. The results show that participants learned to extract that a particular motor response is more likely when the singleton target (which
was unrelated to the response) was presented at a specific location within the visual field. The results also
suggest that it is the location of the target and not its shape that is associated with the biased response.
This learning cannot be considered as being top-down or conscious as participants showed little, if any,
awareness of the response biases present. The results are discussed in terms of the event coding theory.
The study increases the scope of statistical learning and shows how individuals adapt automatically, without
much awareness, to the regularities present in the environment.
Description
Keywords
Statistical learning Attentional selection Motor response
Citation
Theeuwes, J., Huang, C., van Moorselaar, D., & Frings, C. (2024). Statistical Learning of Motor Preparation. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 50(2), 152–162. https://doi.org/10.1037/xhp0001174
Publisher
American Psychological Association