Effect of perceptual learning upon disappearances of luminous figures

Perceptual learning was studied using luminous figures in a dark room. It was found that as a result of previous close temporal and spatial concurrence, discriminably different stimuli under reduced stimulation conditions disappear together more frequently than without such an association. This occurred despite a demonstrated link between identical stimuli prior to the learning experience. Moreover it was shown that the extent to which the stimuli subsequently "operated" together was a function of the frequency and duration of their previous joint occurrence. Temporal and spatial stimulus-stimulus relationships were manipulated and differences between sequential and simultaneous presentations and between different presentation rates were observed and discussed. The effect of auditory experience on subsequent disappearances of the same stimuli presented visually was also examined and the results supported the inter-modal perceptual learning hypothesis. The phenomena observed in all these experiments were interpreted in terms of Hebb's theory of perceptual association.Arts, Faculty ofPsychology, Department ofGraduat