Evidence of blocking with geometric cues in a virtual watermaze
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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2019, Cognitive PsychologyCitation Excerpt :Signal zones were located at the right-angled corners that had previously contained the hidden goal, and no-signal zones were located at the right angled corners of an environment that did not previously contain the hidden goal. Assessing spatial behaviour during extinction tests in such a manner is common in both animal (e.g. McGregor, Horne, Esber, & Pearce, 2009), and human (e.g. Redhead & Hamilton, 2009) experiments. For training and test data, we statistically ratified raw time data with an analysis of variance (ANOVA), and report partial eta squared (ηp2) to estimate effect sizes.
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2017, Learning and MotivationCitation Excerpt :The study therefore provides further evidence of the generality of learning in the spatial domain via competitive associative learning as described by associative models such as Rescorla and Wagner (1972). There have been various demonstrations of blocking and overshadowing in the spatial domain with rats (e.g. Redhead et al., 1997) and human participants (e.g. Redhead & Hamilton, 2007, 2009; Wilson & Alexander, 2008) by different papers and even within the same series of studies (Prados et al., 2013) suggesting a generality of learning. However, there have been less consistent findings with humans in CI training.
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2016, Cognitive PsychologyCitation Excerpt :For nearly 30 years, there has been an ongoing and influential debate surrounding the manner in which human and non-human animals learn about the shape information that is provided by the boundary walls of an environment, and its relative importance in reorientation behaviour (for recent reviews see: Burgess, 2008; Jeffery, 2010; Pearce, 2009). A wide range of species, with different evolutionary paths, have been observed to use the shape information that is provided by the boundaries of an environment during reorientation, including ants (Wystrach & Beugnon, 2009), fish (Sovrano, Bisazza, & Vallortigara, 2002), chicks (Vallortigara, Zanforlin, & Pasti, 1990), mountain chickadees (Gray, Bloomfield, Ferrey, Spetch, & Sturdy, 2005), pigeons (Kelly, Spetch, & Heth, 1998), rats (Hayward, Good, & Pearce, 2004), rhesus monkeys (Gouteux, Thinus-Blanc, & Vauclair, 2001), as well as children (e.g. Hermer & Spelke, 1994, 1996) and adult humans (Redhead & Hamilton, 2007, 2009). Whilst these findings demonstrate that the shape information provided by the boundary walls of an environment acts as a useful cue for reorientation, there has been considerable discussion about how animals encode shape information (for a review see: Cheng, Huttenlocher, & Newcombe, 2013).
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2013, Behavioural ProcessesCitation Excerpt :Experiment 2 aimed to replicate the blocking effect observed in Experiment 1 in a spatial search task with humans. Blocking has been reported in the spatial domain using between-subjects designs in rats (e.g., Rodrigo et al., 1997) and more recently in virtual spatial learning tasks in humans (Alexander et al., 2009; Prados, 2011; Redhead and Hamilton, 2009). Prados (2011) made use of 2D search task in which shapes could be presented in a computer screen in a bird's-eye perspective (as if looking from above).