The learning process gives us different experiences by storing the mind a set of information and retrieval later. However, the child does not need, for example, to attend school classes in order to distinguish between dogs and cats, as he can classify them as different creatures from each other by simply observing them in his daily life.
Scientists call this type of learning "latent learning" or "unconscious learning," and according to the Simple psychology website, latent learning is an involuntary process by which a person distinguishes different things without his awareness or intention, and it is learning that is not reinforced by behaviors. , meaning that the individual does not learn to obey the orders of others, as is the case in urging children to remember their lessons.
The study and development of latent learning theory is credited to the American psychologist Edward Tolman.
In an attempt to confirm this theory, Professor Vladimir Slutsky, Professor of Psychology at Ohio State University, researcher at the same university and lead author of the study, Leila Unger, conducted a research with the aim of providing empirical scientific evidence that proves the mind's ability to distinguish things through accidental exposure to them without a desire to understand the nature of those things.
The results of the study were published in the journal Psychological Science on May 26.
We gain experiences as we go about our usual daily activities, and our minds daily add more categories (Getty Images)
People learn a lot every day without intending to
At the beginning of their study, the researchers explained that our life experiences contain many classifications, for example, we classify dogs as dogs based on some criteria, and we consider them to be very similar regardless of the subtle differences between types of dogs with regard to their colors and sizes. With a 4-chambered heart, we would implicitly conclude that other species have the same heart.
Our knowledge of this information does not require a desire to learn it. Rather, we have gained these experiences during our usual daily activities, and our minds daily add more categories, and new segments within one category automatically.
Professor Slutsky reviews the result of the study, saying: "We notice new things around us without wanting to know what they are, and we have discovered that this exposure leaves an impression in our brains that makes us ready to learn more about those things at a later time."
The study included conducting 5 experiments on 438 people with the aim of determining the effect of latent learning (Shutterstock)
The effect of accidental exposure to objects on learning
The study included conducting 5 experiments on 438 people with the aim of determining the effect of latent learning on our learning abilities, and each experiment was divided into two stages, the first is called the “exposure stage”, during which the subjects interacted with a simple computer game that includes viewing colorful images and unknown creatures, without Provide any information about those creatures.
The researchers divided the creatures into two categories (A) and (B), and these creatures had different characteristics, such as different colors of their hands and tails.
Creatures from both categories were shown to the participants except for the control group, whose members viewed another group of creatures not in categories A and B.
During the next stage in the experiment called "explicit learning," the participants learned more information about these creatures, such as the names of the two classes, and how to identify the creatures that belong to each.
The final step is to measure how quickly participants learn to distinguish between creatures of the two classes.
Unger explains the result of the previous experiment, saying, "We found that the learning of individuals who were previously exposed to images of creatures was faster compared to the members of the comparison group. Blue tails tend to have brown hands. During the explicit learning stage, it became easier for them to sort the creatures into segments."
Participants who had previously seen pictures of the creatures were able to learn to distinguish the differences (Getty Images)
A new experiment to support the results
In an attempt to confirm the results, the researchers resorted to an experiment similar to the first, during which they displayed pictures of the same creatures with a specific sound being broadcast when each picture was displayed, and the participants were asked to press a button when they heard the same sound twice in a row.
"We matched images and sounds randomly, which did not help the participants distinguish those sounds," says Slutsky. "In fact, participants could leave out the images completely, yet their performance was not negatively affected."
As in the first experiment, participants who had seen pictures of the creatures beforehand were able to learn how to distinguish the differences between the two groups and classify the creatures during the explicit learning phase, and in a shorter time compared to the performance of the members of the experiment group.
The previous findings raised an important question: were the participants likely to have learned the differences between the two categories of creatures during their initial exposure to their images without having to go through the explicit learning phase?
Unger answered in the negative.
This study was able to differentiate between what a person learns during the latent and explicit learning stages (Shutterstock)
Latent learning does not replace explicit learning
To support that answer, during some experiments a computer game showed one of the creatures in the middle of the screen to jump left or right, and participants were asked to press a button if the creature jumped to the right, and another button if it jumped to the left.
The participants in the experiment did not know an important fact: creatures of the first category always jump right, and creatures of the second category always jump to the left.
If participants realize this fact, their responses by pressing the correct button will be faster.
In contrast to the previous two experiments, the results indicated that the response speed of the participants in the experiment did not increase, that is, they could not learn or distinguish the differences between the characteristics of the creatures of both groups during the exposure phase.
Slutsky explains this result, explaining, "The exposure phase left an impression of the creatures on the participants, but it was not sufficient to distinguish and classify the differences between creatures, yet this early exposure facilitated later learning."
He added, "This study was able to differentiate between what a person learns during the latent and explicit learning stages, and it is one of the few studies that showed evidence of latent learning."