Is Competitive Learning an Adequate Account of Free Classification?

Rumelhart & Zipser's (1986) competitive learning algorithm is an account of unsupcrvised learning and, as such, might be considered a potential model of free classification behavior in humans. However, selective learning effects (e.g. Dickinson, Shanks & Evenden, 1984) suggest that human learning, ai least under conditions of feedback, may be better characterized by an error-correcting system. An experiment is reported that provides preliminary evidence for the existence of a selective learning effect in free classification. Simulations indicate that Rumelhart & Zipser's algorithm does not provide an adequate account of the behavior observed, whilst an error-correcting variant of competitive learning does