Testing cumulative matching as a mechanism for the Hebb repetition effect

This thesis reports four experiments testing a model of sequence learning--the Burgess and Hitch (2006) model. The thesis focuses on testing the cumulative matching mechanism, the critical mechanism that governs the process of learning in the model. The results of the four experiments were generally not consistent with the model predictions. Four phenomena that present relatively prominent challenges were identified, including the presence of learning where the model predicted learning would be absent. Discussion of potential explanations points to the potential need for separate learning mechanisms for novel and familiar information.