ABSTRACT
There has been widespread research into experts’ remarkable memory for domain-
specific material. Much interest stems from how experts apparently overcome normal
cognitive limitations, such as limits in short-term memory (STM). Research has covered
a wide variety of areas, including games, music, academic domains, mnemonics, and
sports. In developing theories of expertise, focus has been almost entirely centred on
comparing high performers, such as Grandmasters in chess, with intermediate individuals
and novices. Relatively little is known, however, about the details of the very early stages
of learning in complex domains. This study aims at helping to bridge this gap, both by
collecting new empirical data and by carrying out computer simulations.
