Learning conceptual rules: II. The role of positive and negative instances.

Abstract

216 UNDERGRADUATES SOLVED ATTRIBUTE IDENTIFICATION (RULE GIVEN, STIMULUS ATTRIBUTES UNKNOWN) OR RULE LEARNING (ATTRIBUTES GIVEN, RULE UNKNOWN) PROBLEMS ON THE BASIS OF INFORMATION PROVIDED BY POSITIVE INSTANCES ONLY, NEGATIVE INSTANCES ONLY, OR A MIXTURE. FOR DIFFERENT SS, THE CONCEPTUAL RULE WAS CONJUNCTIVE, DISJUNCTIVE, OR CONDITIONAL. IN ATTRIBUTE IDENTIFICATION, SS PERFORMED BEST WHEN THE INFORMATIONAL INSTANCES WERE SELECTED FROM THE SMALLER CLASS, POSITIVE OR NEGATIVE, DEPENDING ON THE RULE AND WORST WHEN THEY WERE SELECTED FROM THE LARGER CLASS. IN RULE LEARNING, SS PERFORMED BEST ON ALL RULES WHEN THE GREATEST VARIETY OF INSTANCES (MIXTURE OF POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE) WAS PRESENTED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)