Competition and facilitation during learning: Searching for domain general principles.

In any domain of daily life and cognition, humans solve tasks and make decisions by using information that comes from multiple, different sources. It is quite obvious that we learn from previous experiences. We then use multiple sources of information to guide our behaviour in environments, make decisions about what is beneficial for us, and act in social situations (attributions, imitation). Most times however, not all information in the environment is useful. For example, if we eat fish and chips and later become ill, it is difficult to know which of the two made us ill, and people tend to select one or the other based on quantity. In fact, humans are particularly adept at selecting and learning from those sources which provide information about relevant outcomes. Hence, the idea of competition between different sources of information has been prominent in theories of learning. A wealth of data in the social sciences and psychology supports this assertion. Yet, the finding that multiple sources of information compete during learning is not ubiquitous. In some fields (i.e., spatial learning, category learning) and in experiments using animals, researchers have found facilitation (the opposite of competition) between multiple sources of information, and this has led to the development of specific theories that explain those findings, by assuming they are "exceptions". Thus, there are theories aimed at explaining competition, and theories aimed at explaining facilitation, but no consensus regarding the circumstances that lead to either of these opposite outcomes. Based predominantly on experiments conducted in nonhuman animals, Urcelay has recently hypothesized that competition and facilitation are two extremes of a continuum which is determined by multiple variables. The objective of this proposal is to test whether contiguity (that is, the temporal and spatial separation of events) is a critical determinant of these opposite findings.

We predict that competition and facilitation are phenomena that can be observed across different tasks and domains of cognition. Therefore, we will test this general prediction across different learning preparations with increasing complexity. First, we wish to determine whether competition and facilitation are observed as a function of temporal separation between hypothetical food consumption and sickness in a predictive scenario such as the food-disease example mentioned above. The second objective is to extend these findings to an action-outcome task. Action-outcome learning underlies the sense of agency, free will and responsibility. We will investigate whether competition or facilitation are observed in a task in which participants' actions (i.e., press a button) and other environmental events (a signal) are presented simultaneously during learning. We will do this whilst manipulating the time between action and the outcome. We predict that when outcomes are presented soon after the action, stimuli will compete with action-outcome learning, but that the opposite will occur when outcomes are delayed. This is relevant to human behaviour because most of our actions are followed by delayed outcomes (e.g., saving for retirement; preparing for a child's birth). The final objective of this proposal is to investigate this prediction in spatial learning, which integrates the above mentioned objectives in a more complex and ecologically valid setting, whilst extending the prediction to spatial separation. Notably, in spatial learning both competition and facilitation have been observed, but the exact reasons for these discrepant findings have not been elucidated. In all three objectives, we will further investigate the psychological mechanisms (whether participants process different bits of information as separate elements, or as a whole) underlying competition and facilitation in these three scenarios. These findings have important implications for theories of learning, and for education.

The proposed research has the potential to impact academics in psychology and other related fields, Head Teachers and Teachers working in the public sector, students seeking access to higher education, and the general public.

The project will significantly advance our knowledge concerning the variables that determine whether competition or facilitation are observed in learning, and this will change our understanding of human learning and memory. Amongst academics, the results of this project will bring facilitation in line with current conceptualizations of competition, by highlighting a variable that determines when competition or facilitation are observed. A key step towards this goal is to demonstrate the generality of such principle across different domains of learning (predictive, causal, and spatial). In addition, we will disseminate to different audiences the knowledge that results from this research. At a local level, we will inform academics through seminar meetings in Leicester and the East Midlands. We will further present out findings at national and international meetings, targeting those academics that might benefit most from this research. We will carefully select the meetings so that we target academics in our specific field (experimental psychologists interested in human learning and memory), but also those in allied fields (evolutionary psychologists, mathematical modellers, psychopathologists). We will review the literature and summarize it in review papers. These reviews plus the empirical findings will be published in high impact (open access) journals, with the intention of maximising the readership of our outputs.

A direct implication of our research is that, under some conditions, delaying feedback can enhance retention, and this has direct implications for assessment practices. Whilst multiple choice testing was originally designed to assess knowledge, it has become increasingly evident that testing can also enhance learning and retention, in particular when feedback is delayed. We will attempt to incorporate delayed feedback into current practices by organizing workshops with Head Teachers in the area. In these workshops, we will a) inform them about current state of knowledge concerning the effects of delaying feedback on MCQ tests, and b) attempt to incorporate this into current practices. Our long term goal is to harness the potential of delaying feedback into student practice tests, with the goal of improving performance in these tests.

Finally, we wish to increase awareness of what scientists do, and how science works. We will organize, for the first time in Leicester, the Pint of Science festival. This event gives attendees an opportunity to interact directly with people involved in the present and future of science. In 2017, the festival was celebrated in over 150 cities (10 countries). In the UK, 26 cities hosted Pint of Science, featuring 1000 speakers and 21000 attendees. We believe that it is time to bring this event to the people (target audience) in the East Midlands, to increase awareness and interest in the sciences.