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This study investigated the PAL, a short, auditory word-based procedural learning task designed for preschool-age children. In the PAL, children use a touchscreen to respond to four blocks of a spoken four-word sequence for a total of 48 trials. In all but the third block a consistent sequence of the words (boy, shoe, tree, cow) was presented auditorily three times; in the third block, the words were presented pseudo-randomly. Accuracy and RT to touch the corresponding picture are recorded using E-Prime, with slowed reaction time (RT) in the third block taken as the index of procedural learning. Sixteen preschoolers (age 3;10 to 5;11; mean 4;7) participated in the four-minute task. Accuracy was high (89%) and RT increased significantly at the pseudo-random block (p < .001; d =1.45; 95% CI .96, 1.94). Fourteen of the sixteen children showed expected RT patterns. The PAL’s success in detecting a procedural learning effect with so few trials is encouraging for future studies of implicit learning mechanisms in even younger children, including those with disorders such as specific language impairment and speech sound disorders. |
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