Beyond the Learning Curve The Construction of Mind

by Speelman, Craig; Kirsner, Kim

• ISBN13: 9780198508854
• ISBN10: 0198508859
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-12-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

For years now, learning has been at the heart of research within cognitive psychology. How do we acquire new knowledge and new skills? Are the principles underlying skill acquisition unique to learning, or similar to those underlying other behaviours? Is the mental system essentially modular, or is the mental system a simple product of experience, a product that, inevitably, reflects the shape of the external world with all of its specialisms and similarities?This new book takes the view that learning is a major influence on the nature of the processes and representations that fill our minds. Throughout, the authors review and consider the areas of skill acquisition and lexical representation to illustrate the effects that practice can have on cognitive processes. They also draw parallels between theories in physical and biological domains to propose not only a new theory of mental function but also demonstrate that the mind is essentially subjectto the same natural laws as the physical world. In so doing Speelman and Kirsner present a new perspective on psychology - one that identifies universal principles underlying all behaviours and one which contrasts markedly from our current focus on highly specific behaviours. Accessibly written,Beyond the Learning Curve is a thought provoking and challenging new text for students and researchers in the cognitive sciences.

Table of Contents

1 Introduction	1	(26)
1.1 Learning curves	3	(2)
1.2 The problem	5	(1)
1.3 What is skill?	6	(3)
1.4 What is skill acquisition?	9	(6)
1.5 Transfer	15	(6)
1.6 Overview of the book	21	(1)
1.7 The solution	22	(2)
1.8 Chapter outline	24	(3)
2 Skill acquisition: History, questions, and theories	27	(40)
2.1 What is skill acquisition?	27	(1)
2.2 Great questions and issues	28	(11)
2.3 Theories	39	(25)
2.4 Conclusions	64	(3)
3 Challenges	67	(42)
3.1 Generality and specificity	67	(5)
3.2 Task effects	72	(2)
3.3 Training effects	74	(3)
3.4 Transfer of training and its effect on learning curies	77	(17)
3.5 Task learning curves as summary functions	94	(5)
3.6 Context effects	99	(4)
3.7 Individual differences	103	(3)
3.8 Conclusions	106	(3)
4 A new framework	109	(32)
4.1 Principles	110	(11)
4.2 The Component Theory of Skill Acquisition	121	(13)
4.3 Implications	134	(7)
5 The lexicon	141	(70)
5.1 Repetition priming: Data and paradigms	142	(3)
5.2 Theory	145	(4)
5.3 Challenges	149	(8)
5.4 The lexicon and skill acquisition are seen as unrelated	157	(2)
5.5 Can skill acquisition explain lexical data?	159	(23)
5.6 Revisiting old theories	182	(3)
5.7 The lexicon reflects the environment	185	(18)
5.8 Distributions and mechanisms	203	(8)
6 A new view	211	(50)
6.1 Halloy's theory of complex systems	212	(3)
6.2 The Component Theory of Skill Acquisition: the mind as a complex system	215	(12)
6.3 Biology, evolution, and explanatory criteria	227	(5)
6.4 Implications	232	(14)
6.5 Recommendations	246	(12)
6.6 Conclusions	258	(3)
References	261	(22)
Index	283