Psicothema was founded in Asturias (northern Spain) in 1989, and is published jointly by the Psychology Faculty of the University of Oviedo and the Psychological Association of the Principality of Asturias (Colegio Oficial de Psicología del Principado de Asturias).
We currently publish four issues per year, which accounts for some 100 articles annually. We admit work from both the basic and applied research fields, and from all areas of Psychology, all manuscripts being anonymously reviewed prior to publication.
Psicothema, 2009. Vol. Vol. 21 (nº 3). 397-402
José Luis Marcos Malmierca y Alfonso Barca Lozano
Universidad de A Coruña
El objetivo de este experimento era estudiar los efectos del nivel de consciencia del estímulo sobre el aprendizaje de expectativa. Noventa y dos sujetos recibieron presentaciones repetidas de dos secuencias de estímulos (E1AgE2A y E1BgE2B), presentándose E1 enmascarado. E2 constituía un estímulo imperativo para una tarea de tiempo de reacción (TR). Tras la fase de adquisición, todos los participantes fueron probados con 10 presentaciones de secuencias de estímulos compatibles (E1AgE2A y E1BgE2B) e incompatibles (E1AgE2B y E1BgE2A). Posteriormente, los participantes fueron segregados atendiendo al nivel de consciencia ante los estímulos enmascarados E1. Los TRs fueron más rápidos en las secuencias de estímulos compatibles que en las incompatibles, pero sólo en el grupo no consciente. Estos resultados son considerados como una clara evidencia de aprendizaje de expectativa en ausencia de consciencia del estímulo y sugieren que la consciencia ante E1 dificulta la manifestación del aprendizaje de expectativa.
Effect of the level of stimulus awareness on expectancy learning. The purpose of this experiment was to study the effects of the level of awareness of the stimuli on expectancy learning. Nine-two participants received repeated presentations of two stimulus sequences (E1AgE2A and E1BgE2B), E1 being a masked stimulus. E2 were imperative stimuli for a reaction time (RT) task. After the acquisition phase, all participants were tested with 10 presentations of compatible (E1AgE2A and E1BgE2B) and incompatible (E1AgE2B and E1BgE2A) stimulus sequences. According to the awareness level of the masked E1 stimuli, the participants were divided into three groups. The RT in the testing phase was faster in compatible than in incompatible stimulus sequences, but only in the unconscious group. These results are considered strong evidence of expectancy learning without awareness of the stimuli and suggest that E1 awareness interferes the manifestation of expectancy learning.
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