Statistical learning prioritizes abstract over item-specific representations.

ABSTRACT: Statistical learning optimizes limited working memory by abstracting probabilistic associations among specific items. However, the cognitive mechanisms responsible for the working memory representation of abstract and item-specific information remain unclear. This study developed a learning-memory representation paradigm and tested three participant groups across three conditions: control (Experiment 1), item-specific encoding (Experiment 2), and abstract encoding (Experiment 3). All groups were first shown picture-artificial-character pairs that contained abstract semantic categories at high (100%), moderate (66.7%), and low (33.3%) probability levels and item-specific information (16.7%). Participants then completed an online visual search task that simultaneously assessed statistical le

SUBMITTER: Zhou M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12627146 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature