Little and McDaniel category learning paradigm distinguishing memorization from rule learning¶
Design · All designs
Evidence · no claims cited
Description¶
A shape categorization task in which participants learn to sort 12 stimuli into two categories ('blickets' and 'daxes') defined by a disjunctive rule about inner and outer shape form or color. Success is possible "either by learning the underlying rule or by simply memorizing the category membership of each stimulus". Ambiguous transfer items, visually similar to trained items but with rule-based membership contradicting their visual match, behaviorally distinguish the strategies. In this study, strategies were inferred solely from responses to ambiguous transfer items.
Design Implications¶
Context¶
Requirements¶
- Transfer test including ambiguous items whose rule-based and similarity-based classifications oppose each other
Constraints¶
- The authors did not collect self-reported strategy use data, leaving open whether participants were aware of their strategy changes
Target Learners¶
- adult learners in cognitive tasks
Learning Goals¶
- rule-based category learning
- distinguishing memorization from rule-abstraction strategies
Claims¶
Related Designs¶
Examples¶
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Key Sources¶
- Kit S. Double, Micah B. Goldwater, Damian P. Birney. (2025). Reactivity to confidence ratings: evidence of impaired rule-learning. Metacognition and Learning. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11409-025-09413-5
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
design |
id |
little-mcdaniel-category-learning-paradigm |
title |
Little and McDaniel category learning paradigm distinguishing memorization from rule learning |
description |
A shape categorization task in which participants learn to sort 12 stimuli into two categories ('blickets' and 'daxes') defined by a disjunctive rule about inner and outer shape form or color. |
status |
review |
generated |
by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-19 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — kit-s-double-2025 |
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