Department of Psychology, Universidad de Almería, Spain.
School of Psychology, Bangor University, UK.
Cognition. 2019 Aug;189:181-187. doi: 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.04.007. Epub 2019 Apr 13.
Does the explicit or implicit knowledge about the consequences of our choices shape learning and memory processes? This seems to be the case according to previous studies demonstrating improvements in learning and retention of symbolic relations and in visuospatial recognition memory when each correct choice is reinforced with its own unique and explicit outcome (the differential outcomes procedure, DOP). In the present study, we aim to extend these findings by exploring the impact of the DOP under conditions of non-conscious processing. To test for this, both the outcomes (Experiment 1A) and the sample stimuli (Experiment 1B) were presented under subliminal (non-conscious) and supraliminal conditions in a delayed visual recognition memory task. Results from both experiments showed a better visual recognition memory when participants were trained with the DOP regardless the awareness of the outcomes or even of the stimuli used for training. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that the DOP can be effective under unconscious conditions. This finding is discussed in the light of the two-memory systems model developed by Savage and colleagues to explain the beneficial effects observed on learning and memory when differential outcomes are applied.
我们对选择后果的明确或隐含的了解是否会影响学习和记忆过程？根据先前的研究表明，当每次正确的选择都伴随着独特而明确的结果（差异结果程序，DOP）进行强化时，这似乎是事实。在本研究中，我们旨在通过探索在非意识加工条件下 DOP 的影响来扩展这些发现。为此，在延迟视觉识别记忆任务中，无论是结果（实验 1A）还是样本刺激（实验 1B），都在潜意识（非意识）和意识阈上条件下呈现。两个实验的结果均表明，无论参与者是否意识到结果，甚至是否意识到用于训练的刺激，当使用 DOP 进行训练时，他们的视觉识别记忆都会更好。据我们所知，这是首次证明 DOP 可以在无意识条件下有效。该发现根据 Savage 及其同事开发的双记忆系统模型进行了讨论，该模型用于解释当应用差异结果时对学习和记忆观察到的有益影响。
