Due largely to developments made in artificial intelligence and cognitive psychology during the past two decades, expertise has become an important subject for scholarly investigations. The Nature of Expertise displays the variety of domains and human activities to which the study of expertise has been applied, and reflects growing attention on learning and the acquisition of expertise. Applying approaches influenced by such disciplines as cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, and cognitive science, the contributors discuss those conditions that enhance and those that limit the development of high levels of cognitive skill.

Contents: M.T.H. Chi, In Memoriam. R. Glaser, M.T.H. Chi, Overview. M.I. Posner, Introduction: What Is It to Be an Expert? Part I:Practical Skills. D.R. Gentner, Expertise in Typewriting. K.A. Ericsson, P.G. Polson, A Cognitive Analysis of Exceptional Memory for Restaurant Orders. J.J. Staszewski, Skilled Memory and Expert Mental Calculation. Part II:Programming Skills. E. Soloway, B. Adelson, K. Ehrlich, Knowledge and Processes in the Comprehension of Computer Programs. J.R. Anderson, P. Pirolli, R. Farrell, Learning to Program Recursive Functions. B. Adelson, E. Soloway, A Model of Software Design. Part IIIIll-Defined Problems. E.J. Johnson, Expertise and Decision Under Uncertainty: Performance and Process. J.A. Lawrence, Expertise on the Bench: Modeling Magistrates' Judicial Decision-Making. J.F. Voss, T.A. Post, On the Solving of Ill-Structured Problems. Part IV:Medical Diagnosis. G.J. Groen, V.L. Patel, The Relationship Between Comprehension and Reasoning in Medical Expertise. A. Lesgold, H. Rubinson, P. Feltovich, R. Glaser, D. Klopfer, Y. Wang, Expertise in a Complex Skill: Diagnosing X-Ray Pictures. W.J. Clancey, Acquiring, Representing, and Evaluating a Competence Model of Diagnostic Strategy.