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Published on: June 1, 2015
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The multiple effects of practice: skill, habit and reduced cognitive load
Adrian M Haith1, John W Krakauer1,2
1Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
|April 5, 2019
Summary
Learning new skills requires practice to achieve automaticity, which means faster, habitual performance with less cognitive load. This study proposes that automaticity results from caching frequently computed outcomes, explaining skill, habit, and cognitive load changes.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Science
- Neuroscience
- Behavioral Psychology
Background:
- Skill acquisition involves extensive practice to achieve proficiency.
- Practice leads to increased speed, habit formation, and reduced cognitive load, collectively termed automaticity.
- Existing theories do not fully explain the multifaceted effects of practice on performance.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose a unifying principle for explaining the effects of practice on skill learning.
- To investigate the role of computation caching in the development of automaticity.
- To explore how caching intermediate computations can lead to nuanced behavioral outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Theoretical modeling of skill acquisition and practice effects.
- Analysis of computational processes underlying task performance.
- Examination of behavioral signatures associated with different caching strategies.
Main Results:
- The study posits that automaticity arises from caching the outcomes of frequently occurring computations.
- Different caching strategies for intermediate computations can explain dissociations between skill, habit, and cognitive load.
- This caching principle provides a parsimonious explanation for various practice-induced behavioral changes.
Conclusions:
- Caching of computational outcomes offers a fundamental explanation for automaticity in skill learning.
- The proposed caching mechanism accounts for the diverse effects of practice on performance.
- Understanding these mechanisms can inform training strategies and the study of cognitive processes.
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