ABSTRACT
IF THERE IS ONE TERM that is most central to the ACT theory, it is “production.” Productions provide the connection between declarative knowledge and behavior. They solve the dilemma of Tolman’s rat that was lost, buried in thought and inaction (Guthrie, 1952, p. 143). The productions themselves are not part of the fixed architecture of the system; rather, they are a second kind of knowledge that complements the declarative knowledge contained in long-term memory. The productions constitute the procedural knowledge of ACT, that is, knowledge about how to do things. The phrase “how to do things” first brings to mind motor skills because these are the most concrete examples of procedural knowledge. Motor skills like riding a bike or typing are certainly instances of procedural knowledge, but they have not been the focus of the ACT theory. Its focus has been on cognitive skills such as decision making, mathematical problem solving, computer programming, and language generation.
