Note: This entry is intended for teachers and parents interested in Down syndrome
We need associative learning on a daily basis. This type of learning allows us to relate different events just because we perceive them “together” (i.e., spatially or temporally correlated). For example, we learn to associate words with objects, and we learn what type of furniture corresponds to specific places in a house or building. We also associate things that happen close in time, we learn that a sequence of events is associated with lunchtime, with recess, with bedtime, etc. In this way, this learning process allows us to organize our behaviour and produce stable mental representations about the world outside.
In our laboratory, we are interested in understanding how this process occurs in people with Down syndrome, and what differences they have in associative learning with typically developing people. To answer these questions, in one study* we analysed how participants learn two associations at the same time. The first association corresponds to learning that A and B are related, and the second association to learning that B and C are related. In our study, A, B and C are the names we use for different images. The fact that image B appears in both associations produces some difficulty, because each time BC learning is reinforced, the learning (or the associative strength) of AB may decrease. The decay, or decrease in the associative strength of a stimulus relation, as a consequence of learning another stimulus relation, is called learning interference.
In our study, we found that participants with Down syndrome were highly susceptible to learning interference effects. Particularly, when we presented 48 AB trials interleaved with 48 BC trials, a group of children with Down syndrome could not learn the associations, unlike when we presented the 48 AB trials together in a block, followed by the 48 BC trials together in a second block, during the blocked presentations the children with Down syndrome adequately learned both stimulus associations. In contrast, a group of typically developing children did manage to learn AB and BC associations in both types of training (interleaved and blocked).
Suggestions for learning environments derived from our work
It has usually been suggested that people with developmental disorders, such as those with Down syndrome, should be given more stimulation. However, our study suggests that the order of stimulation and the structure of the tasks should be well planned. That is, the teaching strategy should be based on ensuring that each skill or task has been well established before seeking to increase the amount of skills or knowledge, as this could lead to learning interference effects with negative consequences for the consolidation of old and new behavioural repertoires.
*For more information see our paper: