On the whats and hows of retrieval in the acquisition of a simple skill

Two general views on the role of memory in cognitive skills-an instance-bas ed theory and an associative perspective-were compared with respect to thei r general assumptions about the information involved and the processes that operate on that information. Characteristics of memory information were ex amined in terms of predictions for transfer to various stimulus forms as a function of 2 types of learning conditions. Characteristics of memory proce sses were examined using a set of general process models. Results of 4 expe riments indicate that (a) neither theoretical perspective was capable of ac counting for all the observed transfer effects, indicating needed refinemen ts to informational assumptions, and that (b) 1 class of process assumption s was consistently supported, whereas other classes were consistently contr adicted, indicating a general set of process characteristics that can be us ed in further model development.