Elsevier

Learning and Motivation

Volume 40, Issue 1, February 2009, Pages 15-34
Learning and Motivation

Evidence of blocking with geometric cues in a virtual watermaze

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lmot.2008.06.002Get rights and content

Abstract

Three computer based experiments, testing human participants in a non-immersive virtual watermaze task, used a blocking design to assess whether two sets of geometric cues would compete in a manner described by associative models of learning. In stage 1, participants were required to discriminate between visually distinct platforms. In stage 2, additional spatial information was provided by the shape or the color of the walls of the pool. In a test trial, the platforms were removed and the spatial knowledge acquired regarding the position of the platform was assessed. Experimental groups were compared against control groups which did not receive stage 1 training. The unique color of the correct platform, in Experiments 1 and 3, disrupted learning about the colored walls but not the geometry of the pool. In Experiment 2, the correct platform was identifiable from its position within the three platform array. Learning the relative position of the correct platform within the array disrupted learning about its position relative to the geometry of the pool, but not to the colored walls. The results suggest that learning the position of a goal in relation to the geometry of the environment can be blocked but only by an alternative geometric cue.

Section snippets

Experiment 1

The aim of Experiment 1 was to test whether blocking was observed using human participants in a virtual water maze. Evidence for associative blocking among conspicuous distal landmarks has been reported in humans using a virtual Morris water task (Hamilton & Sutherland, 1999). Redhead and Hamilton (2007) reported overshadowing of non-geometric cues by the presence of a visible platform, but not geometric cues. The current study will evaluate whether pre-exposure to the visible platform in a

Experiment 2

Experiment 2 consisted of four groups, Group Landmark Shape and Group Shape Shape and their respective control groups. Only the Experimental Groups received stage 1 training. All participants in the experimental groups were placed in a circular pool containing three identical platforms and were required to approach the correct platform. The platforms were placed at the corners of a notional isosceles triangle, and the correct platform was placed at the intersection of the two long sides of the

Experiment 3

There were four groups in Experiment 3, Group Landmark Beacon and Group Shape Beacon and their respective control groups. In stage 1, both experimental groups were required to approach one of three platforms. The platforms were placed at the corners of a notional isosceles triangle in a circular pool. The correct platform was white, while the incorrect platforms were black and grey. In stage 2, the platform array was placed into an equilateral triangular pool with one uniquely colored wall for

General discussion

The results suggest that learning about the spatial relationship between the position of the platform and both geometric and non-geometric landmarks can be disrupted within a blocking design. In Experiments 1 and 3, exposure to a visually distinct platform disrupted learning about the spatial relationship between the position of the platform and the red wall of the pool. These findings are consistent with both animal (e.g., Redhead et al., 1997) and human findings (e.g., Chamizo et al., 2003,

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