ABSTRACT
I am particularly interested in how special knowledge facilitates (or sometimes interferes with) the learning and recall of new information. This is reflected in my research on mnemonic devices, which are special techniques used to memorize information (Bellezza, 1981, 1983). Psychologists have long known that the particular knowledge already in memory somehow mediates the learning of new information, but just how this mediation process takes place is not yet fully understood. The research I discuss here addresses the question of how expert knowledge representations in memory influence learning and recall. The study of the relation between expert knowledge and learning, however, is not as common in psychological research as the study of the role of expert knowledge in decision making and problem solving. But as our understanding of expertise increases, the study of learning by experts will, I believe, contribute to the understanding of how experts use their knowledge.
