Project CatMo – Arena

Category-based Learning and Memory

Category learning tasks are experimental paradigms that investigate how humans acquire and use knowledge about categories. In these tasks, participants are typically presented with a set of stimuli (e.g., objects, patterns, words, or creatures) that differ along multiple features. Each stimulus belongs to a category (e.g., Category A vs. Category B), but the rules or boundaries defining these categories are not explicitly provided. Instead, participants learn to classify the stimuli either through feedback-based training (receiving information about whether their response was correct) or by generalizing from previously encountered exemplars. Performance in category learning tasks provides insights into processes of generalization, abstraction, and memory.

Selected publications

• Schommartz Iryna, Lembcke Philip F, Ortiz-Tudela Javier, Bauer Martin, Kaindl Angela M, Buss Claudia, Shing Yee Lee (2023) Neural Correlates and Reinstatement of Recent and Remote Memory: A Comparison Between Children and Young Adults eLife 12:RP89908. https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.89908.3
• Schommartz, I., Kaindl, A. M., Buss, C. & Shing, Y.L. (2024). Short- and Long-Delay Consolidation of Memory Accessibility and Precision Across Childhood and Young Adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 60(5):891-903. https://doi.org/10.1037/dev0001691