ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the role of goals in implicit learning. Eitam and colleagues (2009) demonstrated that – when two implicit rules are present – orienting participants’ attention to one dimension of sequence was necessary for artificial grammar learning (AGL) to occur. We argue that individuals are able to implicitly acquire the AG rules without explicit instructions about what to focus on. We applied a 2AGL paradigm with two implicit rules: the first governing the sequences of letters, and the second – colors. In Studies 1–2 the latter rule determined the sequence of the font’s colors, and in Study 3 – their background. In Study 1, an implicit learning of a letters-order rule and a no learning of colors-order rule were observed. In Study 2 exactly the same grammar was used for letters and colors to avoid grammar differences’ influence. Results from Study 1 were replicated. In Study 3 colors were presented in the background of black letters. Again, individuals were more successful at acquiring the rule governing the sequence of letters. To conclude, we suggest that the relevance of dimensions in implicit learning is not only a function of explicit goals, but also habits that govern human behavior, like reading habits.
