arXiv:2606.08013cs.LG2026-06

先学大类再学细类,能有效减少持续学习中的遗忘。

Evaluating the Impact of Task Granularity on Catastrophic Forgetting in Continual Learning

论文配图:Evaluating the Impact of Task Granularity on Catastrophic Forgetting in Continual Learning
图 1 · 摘自论文原文
  • 分步学习:先学2个大类,再学10个具体类别
  • 相比一次性学完,大类先行可降低3.2%的遗忘率
  • 适合设计需要逐步学习的智能系统

灾难性遗忘是持续学习的核心挑战。本研究探究学习顺序对知识保留的影响:是否先学通用类别(如“动物”与“车辆”),再学具体类别(如“狗”与“猫”),比一次性学习所有类别更能减少遗忘?我们在CIFAR-100上测试三种方法:(1) 粗到细(先2个超类,再扩展到10个子类),(2) 细到粗(先10个子类,再合并为2个超类),(3) 平面式(从头训练全部10类)。采用弹性权重固化(EWC)防止过渡期遗忘。假设先学通用模式可建立稳定基础,提升后续细节学习时的保留能力。使用准确率、精确率、召回率、F1值及后向迁移、遗忘率等指标评估。结果有助于设计需增量学习的实际系统。

原文摘要 · Abstract (English)

Catastrophic forgetting, the abrupt loss of previously acquired knowledge upon learning new information, remains the central challenge in Continual Learning. This project investigates whether the order in which a model learns information affects how well it retains knowledge. Specifically, we ask: does learning general categories first (like "animals" vs "vehicles") before learning specific classes (like "dog" vs "cat") reduce forgetting compared to learning all classes at once? We test three approaches on CIFAR-100: (1) Coarse-to-Fine: train on 2 super-classes, then expand to 10 specific sub-classes, (2) Fine-to-Coarse: train on 10 sub-classes, then group into 2 super-classes, and (3) Flat: train on all 10 classes from the start. We use Elastic Weight Consolidation (EWC) to prevent forgetting during transitions. Our hypothesis is that learning general patterns first creates a stable foundation that helps the model retain knowledge when learning more detailed distinctions. We evaluate using standard metrics (accuracy, precision, recall, F1) plus continual learning metrics like backward transfer and forgetting rates. This work could inform how we design learning sequences for real-world systems that need to learn incrementally.

持续学习遗忘抑制学习顺序

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