The Differences between Emergentism & Skill Acquisition Theory

Abstract

Although both emergentism and skill acquisition theory developed in the same field (cognitive theories) and as an attempt to replace Universal grammar-based approaches, there are some differences between these two theories. The differences lie under their different models of knowledge representation and their diverse degree of emphasis on the role of input. In addition, skill acquisition considers the process of learning while emergentism considers input and output, and what goes on in between has not been considered. Finally it should be mentioned that these two theories take different views towards the learning process.