Proceduralisation is the process through which animals and also machine learning takes common sequences of actions, whether physical or mental, and combines them into a fixed unit, which is then one of the building blocks for future learning and action. For example, a human guitar player may spend some time learning anew finger sequence, but after a while it no longer feels like separate movements, but is a single practiced motif. Similarly, an automated proof algorithm might repeatedly apply the same sequence of algebraic manipulations during proofs, and after a while combine this into a new proof operator. The term also has a specific meaning in the ACT-R cognitive architecture.
Also known as proceduralization