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Executive Functions And The Interaction Between Category Learning Systems, Sarah J. Miles

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Research on the cognitive processes underlying category learning provides evidence for two separate learning systems. A verbal system learns rule-defined (RD) categories and a nonverbal system learns non-rule-defined (NRD) categories. The objective of my dissertation is to explore the interaction between these systems. The verbal system is dominant in that adults tend to use it during initial learning but may switch to the nonverbal system when the verbal system is unsuccessful. The nonverbal system has traditionally been thought to operate independently of executive functions, but recent studies suggest that executive functions may be used to facilitate the transition away from …