Acquisition of Abstract Knowledge in Implicit Learning of Anagram Solution Scheme

The article addresses the problem of unconscious gaining of abstract knowledge. Participants solved circular 5-letter anagram arranged by the same invariant scheme. The learned schematic invariant is not perceptive, contrary to the usual invariant acquisition technique in other studies. The possibility of implicit learning of a solution scheme is discussed. Efficiency of anagram solving is compared between the groups with constant or changed solution scheme during the test stage. The change of the solution scheme leads to a decrease of efficiency, i.e. to the lower number of the solved anagrams. The results support the possibility of gaining unconscious abstract knowledge concerning the scheme without any perceptual invariant component. Possible use of a similar stimulus material in studies of interaction between visual and verbal components of working memory is briefly discussed.

Activating concepts by activating experiential traces: investigations with a series of anagram solution tasks

According to the experiential-simulations view of language, words automatically activate experiential traces that stem from the reader’s interactions with their referents. Here, we focus on the corresponding influence in the opposite direction. By means of an anagram-solving task we investigated whether activating spatial experiential traces would activate the corresponding concepts, which in turn facilitates access to associated words. Participants solved anagrams of nouns associated with the ocean or the sky (e.g. dolphin = “ dplhion” or cloud = “ cdulo”). In six experiments we provided additional context information such as positional information (presenting the anagram at the top or the bottom of the screen), or pictorial information that either matched the ocean and sky theme or not, or both positional and pictorial information. Anagrams were solved faster when the position of the anagram was congruent with the location of the noun’s referent in the real world, but only when presented on the background of an ocean-sky picture. Thus, activating experiential traces indeed seems to activate related concepts but positional information alone is not enough to find facilitation in an anagram solving task. Rather what is needed is a whole set of traces that sufficiently narrow down the number of related concepts.

The influence of implicit cue on information processing in anagram solving task

This article presents the results of a study, aimed at exploring the influence of implicit cues on early “automatic” processes (first 400 ms) in anagram solving task. During six experimental series participants were shown two type of stimuli: anagrams and pseudowords in random order. Participants had to discriminate the type of stimuli, solve the anagrams and response (by key pressing), whether it was insight solution or not. In the first five series pseudowords had a special cue (letters “A” and “O”). There were no such cues in anagrams. In the last experimental series there were no cues on both pseudowords and anagrams. The participants did not know about such differences. The electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded during this study. It was shown that discrimination time decreased from the first to the fifth series, but increase in the last series. The number of correct discriminations increased from the first to the fifth series, and decreased in the last one. EEG analysis showed significant difference in amplitude of late positive component on interval 200 to 300 ms after stimuli between anagrams and pseudowords. This findings may be explained by activation of semantic network, which is involved in anagram solution processing. This work was supported by grant RSCF № 14-18-03773.