Learning Set Development: Trials to Criterion vs Six Trials per Problem

Abstract

Learning set development was studied in 2 groups of 6 rhesus monkeys, 10 to 15 mo. old when started in adaptation. One group received 900 trials with 6 trials per problem, while the other group was given each problem to a criterion of 20 correct out of 25 or fewer consecutive responses, also for a total of 900 trials. On Trials 901 to 1200, both groups were given 50 new problems with 6 trials per problem. It was found that the 2 groups developed learning sets with equal efficiency. The group given trials to criterion received a much smaller number of problems, as compared with the 6 trials per problem group; hence, it was concluded that learning set development is a simple function of number of trials, at least when the total number of trials is held constant and when the numbers of trials per problem are in the range studied here.