Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31243721›Full record

ArticlePsychonomic bulletin & review2019

Easy-to-hard effects in perceptual learning depend upon the degree to which initial trials are "easy".

Matthew G Wisniewski, Barbara A Church, Eduardo Mercado, Milen L Radell, Alexandria C Zakrzewski

Open access · hybridAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychonomic bulletin & review, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 28% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 14 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Matthew G WisniewskiKansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA. mgwisniewski@ksu.edu.
Barbara A ChurchGeorgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
Eduardo MercadoUniversity at Buffalo, The State University of New York, Buffalo, NY, USA.
Milen L RadellNiagara University, Niagara University, NY, USA.
Alexandria C ZakrzewskiKansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA.
Kansas State University · USGeorgia State University · USNiagara University · USUniversity at Buffalo, State University of New York · US

Funding

The role of prestimulus oscillatory brain dynamics in auditory memoryP20GM113109 · NIGMS · KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Heather Bailey · 2017 to 2026
$24.1M
NIGMS NIH HHS GM113109NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM113109
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Starting perceptual training at easy levels before progressing to difficult levels generally produces better learning outcomes than constantly difficult training does. However, little is known about how "easy" these initial levels should be in order to yield easy-to-hard effects. We compared five levels of initial training block difficulty varying from very easy to hard in two auditory-discrimination learning tasks-a frequency modulation rate discrimination (Experiment 1) and a frequency range discrimination (Experiment 2). The degree of difficulty was based on individualized pretraining ~71% correct discrimination thresholds. Both experiments revealed a sweet spot for easy-to-hard effects. Conditions where initial blocks were either too easy or too difficult produced less benefit than did blocks of intermediate difficulty. Results challenge assumptions that sequencing effects in learning are related to attentional spotlighting of task-relevant dimensions. Rather, they support incremental learning models that account for easy-to-hard effects. Further, the results have implications for how perceptual training regimens should be designed to maximize the benefits of rehabilitative perceptual training.

Indexed as

Practice, PsychologicalAdultAttentionAuditory PerceptionDiscrimination LearningHumansYoung AdultAdaptive trainingFadingProgressive trainingTransfer along a continuum

Identifiers

PMID31243721
PMCPMC6868315
OpenAlexW2955992667

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.