Compared to other animals or to artificial agents, humans are unique in the extent of their abilities to learn and adapt to changing environments. When focusing on skill learning and model-based approaches, learning can be conceived as a progression of increasing, then decreasing, dimensions of representing knowledge. First, initial learning demands exploration of the learning space and the identification of the relevant dimensions for the novel task at hand. Second, intermediate learning requires a refinement of these relevant dimensions of knowledge and behavior to continue improving performance while increasing efficiency. Such improvements utilize chunking or other forms of dimensionality reduction to diminish task complexity. Finally, late learning ensures automatization of behavior through habit formation and expertise development, thereby reducing the need to effortfully control behavior. While automatization greatly increases efficiency, there is also a trade-off with the ability to generalize, with late learning tending to be highly specific to the learned features and contexts. In each of these phases a variety of interacting factors are relevant: Declarative instructions, prior knowledge, attentional deployment, and cognitive fitness have unique roles to play. Neural contributions to processes involved also shift from earlier to later points in learning as effortfulness initially increases and then gives way to automaticity. Interestingly, video games excel at providing uniquely supportive environments to guide the learner through each of these learning stages. This fact makes video games a useful tool for both studying learning, due to their engaging nature and dynamic range of complexity, as well as engendering learning in domains such as education or cognitive training.
