ManyBabies 3: A multi‐lab study of infant algebraic rule learning

Visser, Ingmar, Geambasu, Andreea, Kachergis, George, Oliveira, Cátia M. and Rocha-Hidalgo, Joscelin 2026. ManyBabies 3: A multi‐lab study of infant algebraic rule learning. Developmental Science 29 (6) , e70259. 10.1111/desc.70259

PDF - Published Version Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB)

Abstract

The ability to learn and apply rules lies at the heart of cognition. In a seminal study, Marcus et al. (1999) reported that 7-month-old infants learned abstract rules over syllable sequences and were able to generalize those rules to novel syllable sequences. Dozens of studies have since replicated that finding and extended it using different rules, modalities, stimuli, participants (human adults and non-human animals) and experimental procedures. Yet questions remain about the generalizability of the core findings in Marcus et al., and sources of variation across these findings. In the current study, we address this issue by testing 839 infants (650 after exclusions) of a wide age range (5;0–12;0 months) in a multi-laboratory (30 laboratories, [31 samples]) conceptual replication of the Marcus et al. study. This study and the analysis plan were submitted as a registered report. A mixed-model analysis of the looking times at consistent versus inconsistent test trials indicated no significant effect. The current study therefore finds no evidence for rule-learning; to the contrary, a Bayesian analysis of the data indicated strong evidence for a null effect. This was similarly the case for the moderating factors that were part of the design: mono- versus multilingualism, age, and experimental paradigm; none of these factors showed significant effects. Robustness analyses indicated that the results were not different in the case of different choices in the (pre-)processing of the data. A follow-up analysis for single labs indicated that there was no evidence of rule-learning in 30 of the 31 contributed samples. The current finding raises fundamental issues about rule-learning that are presented in the Discussion section.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Schools > Psychology
Additional Information:	Full authors available at DOI
Publisher:	Wiley
ISSN:	1363-755X
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	22 September 2026
Last Modified:	22 Sep 2026 10:58
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/189764

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item