Implicit Learning in Children and Adults With Williams Syndrome

In comparison to explicit learning, implicit learning is hypothesized to be a phylogenetically older form of learning that is important in early developmental processes (e.g., natural language acquisition, socialization) and relatively impervious to individual differences in age and IQ. We examined implicit learning in a group of children and adults (9-49 years of age) with Williams syndrome (WS) and in a comparison group of typically developing individuals matched for chronological age. Participants were tested in an artificial-grammar learning paradigm and in a rotor-pursuit task. For both groups, implicit learning was largely independent of age. Both groups showed evidence of implicit learning but the comparison group outperformed the WS group on both tasks. Performance advantages for the comparison group were no longer significant when group differences in working memory or nonverbal intelligence were held constant.