Acquisition vs. Memorization Trade-Offs Are Modulated by Walking Distance and Pattern Complexity in a Large-Scale Copying Paradigm

Gregor Hardiess, Kai Basten and Hanspeter A Mallot

PLOS ONE, 2011, vol. 6, issue 4, 1-11

Abstract: In a “block-copying paradigm”, subjects were required to copy a configuration of colored blocks from a model area to a distant work area, using additional blocks provided at an equally distant resource area. Experimental conditions varied between the inter-area separation (walking distance) and the complexity of the block patterns to be copied. Two major behavioral strategies were identified: in the memory-intensive strategy, subjects memorize large parts of the pattern and rebuild them without intermediate visits at the model area. In the acquisition-intensive strategy, subjects memorize one block at a time and return to the model after having placed this block. Results show that the frequency of the memory-intensive strategy is increased for larger inter-area separations (larger walking distances) and for simpler block patterns. This strategy-shift can be interpreted as the result of an optimization process or trade-off, minimizing combined, condition-dependent costs of the two strategies. Combined costs correlate with overall response time. We present evidence that for the memory-intensive strategy, costs correlate with model visit duration, while for the acquisition-intensive strategy, costs correlate with inter-area transition (i.e., walking) times.

Date: 2011
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0018494

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0018494

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