systems use cumulative learning, as they need to handle unknown dynamic environments where information isn't known upfront - precisely as described in the principle of cumulative learning. With regard to machine learning, information is compared and put into a framework for use with future processes or problem-solving tasks. Mechanisms in learning that can result in the development of knowledge and skills are cumulative and structural in nature. Arguably, all learning is cumulative learning, as all learning depends on previous learning. Cumulative learning consolidates the knowledge one has obtained through experiences, allowing it to be reproduced and exploited for subsequent learning situations through cumulative interaction between prior knowledge and new information. On a similar note, cumulative cultural learning is the idea that children inherit group-specific knowledge from the cultural ecologies they inhabit. Children construct new knowledge by updating and revising previous beliefs, learning through observations, participation and imitation. It shows how the principle of cumulative learning can be applied to situations from an early age, and is present in all learning opportunities throughout a person's lifetime. This type of cumulative learning is also reflected in the policy rhetoric - there is a continuous building of knowledge, addition of new skills and new meanings given to existing abilities. ; something which is required for the development of new policies. Experiments are deemed valuable because they promote cumulative learning - the replication and extension of experimental designs are the most reliable route to it. They provide learning opportunities as if a test doesn't go as planned, a researcher can use the information gained to adapt the methods used in the next experiment. However, relying on the naturally occurring replication of experimental research may not suffice to promote cumulative learning because interventions and outcomes measures are different across disparate contexts. Criticism A criticism cites that cumulative learning theory is inadequate as a general theory of mental development because it is not sufficiently developed in such a way that it permits empirical tests of it. Whilst this may be true, it is clear that the concept itself is prevalent in cognitive development - as illustrated through the ways children learn and use new knowledge to inform future situations. References Learning