Assessing the Effects of Intervening Elements on Nonadjacent Dependency Learning Público

Abstract

Background: Statistical learning is a key component to humans developing language. Non-human primates can learn through statistical learning too. Statistical regularities that are seen in language are adjacent and non-adjacent dependencies. Non-human primates have been able to demonstrate learning of these statistical regularities. Here we use different sequences to compare if monkeys can learn non-adjacent dependencies of varying lengths.

Methods: We used a serial reaction time paradigm to look at Rhesus Macaques reaction times to stimuli on a computer screen. We created three different sequences, each containing different dependent elements. We tested the monkeys with these sequences in four phases: Baseline, Testing, Generalization, and Baseline 2. The monkeys completed thousands of trials the experiment to allow us to analyze their reaction times. 

Results: Initially we concluded that the first monkey showed a decrease in reaction time for the dependent elements, but after more statistical tests we found that the monkey did not learn the dependencies. The second monkey did not show a decrease in reaction time for the adjacent dependency sequence. The last monkey showed learning in the adjacent dependency sequence, but no learning in the non-adjacent dependency sequences. 

Conclusion: Learning adjacent and non-adjacent dependencies are difficult in monkeys. One of the monkeys was able to learn the adjacent dependency, but none of the monkeys learned the non-adjacent dependencies. 

Table of Contents

 Introduction………………………………………..………………………………………………1

Methods………………………………………………………………………………………..…..4

General Methods…………………………………………………………………………………4

General Procedure………………………………………………………………………………..5

Experiment 1, Methods…………………...…………...…………………………………………6

Experiment 1, Data Analysis………….…………………………………………………………9

Experiment 1, Results……………………………..………………………..……………………10

Experiment 1, Discussion…………………………….………………………………………….13

Experiment 2…………………...………………….……………………………..………………14

Experiment 2, Stimuli……………...…………………………………………………………….14

Experiment 2, Data Analysis………………………….…………………………………………16

Experiment 2, Results……………………………………………..……………………………..16

Experiment 2, Discussion…………………….…………………….……………………………21

General Discussion………………………………………………………………………………22

Figures ………………….………………………………………………………………………..25

           Figure 1…………………………………………………………….…………………….25

           Figure 2…………………………………………………………….…………………….26

Figure 3…………………………………………………………….…………………….27

Figure 4…………………………………………………………….…………………….28

           Figure 5…………………………………………………………….…………………….29

           Figure 6…………………………………………………………….…………………….30

           Figure 7…………………………………………………………….…………………….31

           Figure 8…………………………………………………………….…………………….32

Figure 9…………………………………………………………….…………………….33

Figure 10……………………………………..…………………….…………………….34

Figure 11………………………………..………………………….…………………….35

Figure 12………………………………..………………………….…………………….36

Tables……………………………...……………………………………………………………..37

Table 1…….……………………………………………………….…………………….37

Table 2…….……………………………………………………….…………………….38

Table 3…….……………………………………………………….…………………….39

Table 4…….……………………………………………………….…………………….40

Table 5…….……………………………………………………….…………………….41

Table 6…….……………………………………………………….…………………….42

Table 7…….……………………………………………………….…………………….43

Table 8…….……………………………………………………….…………………….44

Works Cited………………………………………….…………………………………………..45 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology
Degree	B.S.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, Behavioral Psychology, Cognitive
Palabra Clave	Non-adjacent dependency
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Benjamin Wilson, Emory University Robert Hampton, Emory University Keith Easterling, Emory University

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