Visual Primacy II: Transfer under Changes of Stimulus Modality and Linguistic Mode

• Published in: Acta comportamentalia Vol. 10; no. 2; pp. 199 - 219
• Main Authors: Varela, Julio, Martinez Munguia, Carlos, Padilla, M Antonia, Avalos, Maria Luisa, Quevedo, Maria del C, Lepe, Alejandra, Zepeda, Idania, Jimenez, Bernardo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: 01.12.2002
• ISSN: 0188-8145

Ninety subjects with different school grades were trained on a zero-delay, second-order, matching-to-sample task. The task consisted of the class identification of objects, animals, or vegetables. Stimuli could be visual, auditory, or both in one of six possible arrays of second-order, sample, & comparison stimuli. The transfer tests changed the stimulus modality. If training included visual stimulus, the transfer test presented it in auditory modality, & vice versa. Transfer sessions involved test trials (1) with the same number, (2) fewer, or (3) more auditory stimuli than in training. Three of the 2nd-grade, 10 of the 5th-grade & 11 of the 9th-grade subjects could learn the task & performed well on transfer trials when these included more visual than auditory stimuli. In any condition, college students performed well during training & testing. Physical trainers' performance was similar to that of 9th grade subjects. This study points to the primacy of visual stimulation & the importance of stimulus modality in this kind of task. 9 Figures, 13 References. Adapted from the source document