Executive Functions and Category Learning: Individual Differences Based Study

• Main Authors: Yao-Siang Su, 蘇曜祥
• Other Authors: Lee-Xieng Yang
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2009
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/93825427553677452496

碩士 === 國立成功大學 === 認知科學研究所 === 97 === DeCaro, Thomas, and Beilock (2008) shows the relationship between working memory capacity (WMC) and individual differences in category learning. Some studies proposed the executive function might be the key source of variation of WMC and could be divided into several basic executive functions. The goal of this study is to reexamine the relationship between WMC and category learning performance by replacing working memory span task with executive function task and improve the defects of DeCaro et al’s experimental design. We anticipate it can measure the key component of WMC. The executive function tasks and category learning task has been used in both Experiment 1 (Exp 1) and Experiment 2 (Exp 2). Executive function tasks include: plus-minus task, number-letter task, keep track task, tone monitoring task, letter memory task, antisaccade task, and stop-signal task. The difference between category learning task in Exp 1 and Exp 2 is the stimulus can be psychological separable (Exp 1) or not (Exp 2). Exp 1 and Exp 2 found that it can be extracted two several latent variables of executive function. But the updating (the construct resembles WMC) of Exp 1 has no significant relationship between subject’s learning performance in any single category structure. Nevertheless, updating has the negative relationship with the transfer cost which is between blocks of different category structure. Due to ceil effect, the relationship between updating and the blocks between same category structure is not clear. The updating of Exp 2 has no significant relationship between subject’s learning performance in any single category structure and the relationship of updating and the transfer cost between blocks of different / same category structure are not clear.