Analogic and abstraction strategies in synthetic grammar learning: A functionalist interpretation

Abstract Subjects learned artificial grammars under two conditions of acquisition: paired-associate learning and observation of exemplars. The former procedure was strongly associated with the establishment of a fairly concrete memorial space consisting of specific items and parts of items and the use of an analogic strategy for making decisions about novel stimuli. The observation procedure was strongly associated with the induction of an abstract representation of the rules of the grammar and the use of a correspondence strategy for decision making. Moreover, this latter procedure led to more robust knowledge and better overall performance. Analyses of both objective response patterns and subjective introspections yielded coordinated data in support of this distinction. The relationships between acquisition condition and cognitive strategy are discussed from a functionalist point of view.