Recent explanation-based learning (EBL) models in AI allow a computer program to learn a schema by analyzing a single example. For example, GENESIS is an EBL system which learns a plan schema from a single specific instance presented in a narrative. Previous learning models in both AI and psychology have required multiple examples. This paper presents experimental evidence that people can learn a plan schema from a single narrative and that the learned schema agrees with that predicted by EBL. This evidence suggests that GENESIS, originally constructed as a machine learning system, can be interpreted as a psychological model of learning a complex schema from a single example.

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In Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, pp. 50-57, Seattle, WA, July 1987.

@InProceedings{ahn:cogsci87, title={Schema Acquisition from One Example: Psychological Evidence for Explanation-Based Learning}, author={W. Ahn and Raymond J. Mooney and W.F. Brewer and G.F. DeJong}, booktitle={Proceedings of the Ninth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society}, month={July}, address={Seattle, WA}, key={genesis ebl}, pages={50-57}, url="http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/ai-lab?ahn:cogsci87", year={1987} }