We show that a simple network model of associative learning can reproduce three findings that arise from particular training and testing procedures in generalization experiments: the effect of (i) ‘errorless learning’, (ii) extinction testing on peak shift, and (iii) the central tendency effect. These findings provide a true test of the network model which was developed to account for other phenomena, and highlight the potential of neural networks to study the phenomena that depend on sequences of experiences with many stimuli. Our results suggest that at least some such phenomena, e.g. stimulus range effects, may derive from basic mechanisms of associative memory rather than from more complex memory processes.

The authors previously described a procedure that permits rapid, multiple within-participant assessments of the contingency between a cue and an outcome (the “streamed-trial ” procedure, Crump, Hannah, Allan, & Hord, 2007). In the present experiments, the authors modified this procedure to investigate cue-interaction effects, replicating conventional findings in both the one- and two-phase blocking paradigms. The authors show that the streamed-trial procedure is not restricted to the geometric forms used as cues and outcomes by Crump et al., and that it can incorporate the conventional allergy stimuli, where food is the cue and an allergic reaction is the outcome. The authors discuss the value of the streamed-trial procedure as a method for advancing our theoretical understanding of cue-interaction effects.

The contextual cuing effect refers to a robust phenomenon in which repeated visual context guides attention to relevant information by constraining search (Brady & Chun, 2007; Chun & Jiang, 1998). The effect is measured by an object search task in which a target (e.g., the letter T) is located within repeated or non-repeated visual contexts (e.g., configurations of the letter L). Shorter response times for the repeated configurations indicate that contextual information has facilitated search. Though the effect is robust among adult participants, recent attempts testing the effect with children yielded mixed results (e.g., Vaidya, Huger, Howard & Howard, 2007). Because contextual cuing could play a critical role in cognitive development, resolving this issue is important. The present study used child friendly paradigms to investigate whether children are sensitive to repeated contextual information. The study suggests that children as young as 3 and half year olds successfully show the contextual cuing effect when visual search tasks are age appropriate.