INFORMATION SPECIFICATION IN ATTAINMENT OF CONDITIONAL CONCEPTS

165 undergraduates solved 3 conditional concepts under 11 feedback conditions. 4 conditions specified 1 of the 4 possible cases of concept instances (if factor present, then factor present; if present, then absent; if absent, then present; if absent, then absent), leaving the other 3 cases ambiguous; 6 conditions specified 2 cases, leaving 2 cases ambiguous; and 1 condition specified each of the 4 cases. Performance improved directly with increasing information specification: the 4 conditions specifying 1 case required more card choices to solution than the 6 conditions specifying 2 cases or the condition specifying 4 cases, and 4 of the 6 conditions specifying 2 cases required more card choices than the condition specifying 4 cases. These results indicate that much more information than is typically given can be used in the attainment of conditional concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1969 American Psychological Association.