The Spacing Effect in Remote Information-Integration Category Learning
Abstract
The present study examined whether the temporal distribution of procedural category learning experiences would impact learning outcomes. Participants completed the remote category learning study on a smartphone in one of two learning conditions: Massed (control) or distributed. Consistent with expectations, distributed learners reached higher accuracy levels. This effect disappeared after accounting for reaction time differences, suggesting that it was driven by attentional mechanisms. Distribution may have made participants more likely discover the optimal categorization strategy and more robust to sensory habituation. Counter to previous findings, participants favored distributed learning. These results suggest that adult category learning is facilitated by temporal spacing. Future work may further explore the effects of temporal and contextual distinctiveness of learning experiences on category learning outcomes.