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Contextual Effects On A Well Learned Task: Isolated Or Broad?, Matthew J. Parkinson

Theses : Honours

Skill transfer is a fundamental feature in the domain of skill acquisition, however different theories present conflicting ideas regarding prediction of transfer. Anderson's (1982) Adaptive Control of Thought theory posits that the amount of transfer is proportional to the number of shared productions. Logan's (1988) Instance theory in contrast, posits that complete transfer will only occur on tasks which have been experienced before. However, work by Speelman and Kirsner (1997), Speelman, Forbes and Giesen (2004) and Johnson (2005) have produced results that counter the implicit assumptions of these theories. More specifically a disruption from the predicted learning curve was found …