title: A graph-dynamic model of the power law of practice and the problem-solving fan-effect.
abstract: Numerous human learning phenomena have been observed and captured by individual laws, but no unified theory of learning has succeeded in accounting for these observations. A theory and model are proposed that account for two of these phenomena: the power law of practice and the problem-solving fan-effect. The power law of practice states that the speed of performance of a task will improve as a power of the number of times that the task is performed. The power law resulting from two sorts of problem-solving changes, addition of operators to the problem-space graph and alterations in the decision procedure used to decide which operator to apply at a particular state, is empirically demonstrated. The model provides an analytic account for both of these sources of the power law. The model also predicts a problem-solving fan-effect, slowdown during practice caused by an increase in the difficulty of making useful decisions between possible paths, which is also found empirically.
authors.affiliation: Xerox PARC, Palo Alto, CA 94304.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Shrager
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hogg
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Huberman
mesh_terms: D003657:Decision Making; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning; D008433:Mathematics; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011340:Problem Solving