The Relationship Between Skill Learning and Repetition Priming: Experimental and Computational Analyses

Skill learning and repetition priming are considered by some to be supported by separate memory systems. The authors examined the relationship between skill learning and priming in 3 experiments using a digit entering task, in which participants were presented with unique and repeated 5-digit strings with controlled sequential structure. Both skill learning and priming were observed across a wide range of skill levels. Performance reflected the effects of learning at 3 different levels of stimulus structure,calling into question a binary dichotomy between item-specific priming and general skill learning. Two computational models were developed which demonstrated that previous dissociations between skill learning and priming can occur within a single memory system. The experimental and computational results are interpreted as suggesting that skill learning and priming should be viewed as 2 aspects of a single incremental learning mechanism.