A theory of learning and transfer: I

A rational theory of discrimination learning is developed for the special case in which the subject must discriminate between two stimuli which differ with respect to one variable such as size or brightness. It is shown that the previous equations developed by Gulliksen and Thurstone are special cases of the present one. It is predicted that the ultimate level of accuracy of the discrimination is inversely related to the difference, as determined psychophysically, between the two stimuli. Other implications of the theory for experimental work are presented.

[1]  P. E. Fields.  Studies in concept formation. II. A new multiple stimulus jumping apparatus for visual figure discrimination. , 1935 .

[2]  K. Spence.  The nature of discrimination learning in animals. , 1936 .

[3]  C. Warden,et al.  The discrimination of absolute versus relative brightness in the ring dove, Turtur risorius. , 1929 .

[4]  N. Munn.  An Apparatus for Testing Visual Discrimination in Animals , 1931 .

[5]  G. R v sz,et al.  Experimental study in abstraction in monkeys. , 1925 .

[6]  A. Householder,et al.  Discussion of a set of points in terms of their mutual distances , 1938 .

[7]  L. L. Thurstone,et al.  The Learning Function , 1930 .

[8]  C. I. Hovland.  The Generalization of Conditioned Responses: I. The Sensory Generalization of Conditioned Responses with Varying Frequencies of Tone , 1937 .

[9]  D. Hebb.  The innate organization of visual activity. III. Discrimination of brightness after removal of the striate cortex in the rat. , 1938 .

[10]  H. Gulliksen.  The relationship between degree of original learning and degree of transfer , 1936 .

[11]  C. L. Hull.  The conflicting psychologies of learning—a way out. , 1935 .

[12]  Studies in the learning function , 1937 .

[13]  K. S. Lashley,et al.  The Mechanism of Vision: XV. Preliminary Studies of the Rat's Capacity for Detail Vision , 1938 .

[14]  L. Thurstone.  The Error Function in Maze Learning , 1933 .

[15]  C. L. Hull.  Mind, mechanism, and adaptive behavior. , 1937 .

[16]  E. Thorndike.  The fundamentals of learning , 1972 .

[17]  H. Helson.  Insight in the white rat. , 1927 .

[18]  K. Spence.  The differential response in animals to stimuli varying within a single dimension. , 1937 .

[19]  C. L. Hull,et al.  The irradiation of a tactile conditioned reflex in man. , 1934 .

[20]  I. Krechevsky,et al.  A study of the continuity of the problem-solving process. , 1938 .

[21]  L. E. Wiley,et al.  Studies in the learning function , 1937 .

[22]  D. Wolfle.  Absolute brightness discrimination in the white rat. , 1937 .

[23]  K. S. Lashley,et al.  The Mechanism of Vision: I. A Method for Rapid Analysis of Pattern-Vision in the Rat , 1930 .

[24]  D. Hebb.  The innate organization of visual activity. II. Transfer of response in the discrimination of brightness and size by rats reared in total darkness. , 1937 .

[25]  H. Gulliksen.  Studies of Transfer of Response: I. Relative Versus Absolute Factors in the Discrimination of Size by the White Rat , 1932 .

[26]  C. Warden,et al.  The Discrimination of Absolute Versus Relative Size in the Ring Dove,Turtur Risorius , 1931 .

[27]  C. I. Hovland.  The generalization of conditioned responses. IV. The effects of varying amounts of reinforcement upon the degree of generalization of conditioned responses. , 1937 .

[28]  Harold Gulliksen,et al.  A Rational Equation of the Learning Curve Based on Thorndike's Law of Effect , 1934 .