Exploring the Effect of Stimulus Similarity on the Summation Effect in Causal Learning

Several contemporary models anticipate that the summation effect is modulated by the similarity between the cues forming a compound. Here, we explore this hypothesis in a series of causal learning experiments. Participants were presented with two visual cues that separately predicted a common outcom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental psychology 2018-07, Vol.65 (4), p.183-200
Main Authors: Pérez, Omar D, San Martín, René, Soto, Fabián A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Causality
Color
Cues
Discrimination
Form and Shape Perception
Generalization (Learning)
Human
Independence (Personality)
Learning
Prediction
Spatial Ability
Stimulus Similarity
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Summary:Several contemporary models anticipate that the summation effect is modulated by the similarity between the cues forming a compound. Here, we explore this hypothesis in a series of causal learning experiments. Participants were presented with two visual cues that separately predicted a common outcome and later asked for the outcome predicted by the compound of the two cues. Similarity was varied between groups through changes in shape, spatial position, color, configuration, and rotation. In variance with the predictions of these models, we observed similar and strong levels of summation in both groups across all manipulations of similarity. The effect, however, was significantly reduced by manipulations intended to impact assumptions about the causal independence of the cues forming the compound, but this reduction was independent of stimulus similarity. These results are problematic for similarity-based models and can be more readily explained by rational approaches to causal learning.
ISSN:1618-3169
2190-5142
DOI:10.1027/1618-3169/a000406