Practice makes two hemispheres almost perfect

Abstract

Some tasks produce a performance advantage for conditions that require the processing of stimuli in two visual fields compared to conditions where single hemifield processing is sufficient. This advantage, however, disappears with practice. Although no definitive evidence yet exists, there are several possible mechanisms that might lead to improved performance of within- compared to across-hemisphere processing with practice. These include a shift from a more demanding, algorithmic strategy to a less demanding memory-retrieval strategy (e.g., [G. Logan, Toward an instance theory of automatisation. Psych. Rev. 95 (1988) 492-527]), as discussed by Weissman and Compton [D.H. Weissman, R.J. Compton, Practice makes a hemisphere perfect: the advantage of interhemispheric recruitment is eliminated with practice. Laterality, 8 (4) (2003) 361-375], and/or a more generalised practice effect [K. Kirsner, C. Speelman, Skill acquisition and repetition priming: one principle, many processes? J. Exp. Psychol., Learn. Mem. Cogn., 22 (1996) 563-575]. Contrary to Weissman and Compton findings, our results suggest that although single-hemisphere performance improves with practice, bi-hemispheric performance also improves substantially. Furthermore, these effects do not appear to be due to a shift in strategy but rather due to a general practice effect. Show more