The functional equivalence of problem solving skills

The tower of Hanoi problem is used to show that, even in simple problem environments, numerous distinct solution strategies are available, and different subjects may learn different strategies. Four major classes of solution strategies are described for the problem. Different strategies have different degrees of transferability, place different burdens on short-term memory and on perception, and require different learning processes for their acquisition. The analysis underscores the importance of subject-by-subject analysis of “what is learned” in understanding human behavior in problem-solving situations, and provides a technique for describing subjects' task performance programs in detail.     

Das Problem der Chronometerauswahl

On Choice of Time Metric. What criteria ought to be satisfied by those observable processes which, accompanied by a function assigning values to intervals of that processes, serve as the standard for measurement of time? In how far do the criteria which can reasonably be established admit of an unambigous definition of time metric? That are the questions to which I have addressed myself in the paper. Peter Janich has aimed at solving the problem with careful avoidance of any reference to physical theory. Although this paper owes a great deal to his ‘Protophysik der Zeit’, reasons will be ad-vanced that it is in principle impossible to give a foundation of time metric without any reference to physical theory. It follows that taking results of physical theory into account is unavoidable as far as a definite decision concerning the choice of time metric is aspired. At first sight reference to law-like assertions on the duration of temporal intervals appears to be paradoxical for it means to take something which originally ought to be submitted to experimental test as the standard for measurement. Poincaré is fairly conscious of this problem, yet explicitly acknowledges that there is a mutual relationship between definition of time metric and physical theory. It will be shown that this kind of mutual relationship which even might be termed as circular does not void physical theory of empirical content. Thus in the final part I am concerned to free the position which recommends reference to physical theory from its paradoxical image in order to advance a conventionalist account as a sceptical, but nevertheless fully satisfying solution.     

The effect of expertise on collaborative problem solving

Why do some groups succeed where others fail? We hypothesise that collaborative success is achieved when the relationship between the dyad's prior expertise and the complexity of the task creates a situation that affords constructive and interactive processes between group members. We call this state the zone of proximal facilitation in which the dyad's prior knowledge and experience enables them to benefit from both knowledge-based problem-solving processes (e.g., elaboration, explanation, and error correction) andcollaborative skills (e.g., creating common ground, maintaining joint attention to the task). To test this hypothesis we conducted an experiment in which participants with different levels of aviation expertise, experts (flight instructors), novices (student pilots), and non-pilots, read flight problem scenarios of varying complexity and had to identify the problem and generate a solution with either another participant of the same level of expertise or alone. The non-pilots showed collaborative inhibition on problem identification in which dyads performed worse than their predicted potential for both simple and complex scenarios, whereas the novices and experts did not. On solution generation the non-pilot and novice dyads performed at their predicted potential with no collaborative inhibition on either simple or complex scenarios. In contrast, expert dyads showed collaborative gains, withdyads performing above their predicted potential, but only for the complex scenarios. On simple scenarios the expert dyads showed collaborative inhibition and performed worse than their predicted potential. We discuss the implications of these results for theories of collaborative problem solving.     

Building bridges with words: an inferential account of ethical univocity

Abstract

Explaining genuine moral disagreement is a challenge for metaethical theories. For expressivists, this challenge comes from the plausibility of agents making seemingly univocal claims while expressing incongruent conative attitudes. I argue that metaethical inferentialism – a deflationary cousin to expressivism, which locates meaning in the inferential import of our moral assertions rather than the attitudes they express – offers a unique solution to this problem. Because inferentialism doesn’t locate the source of moral disagreements in a clash between attitudes, but instead in conflicts between the inferential import of ethical assertions, the traditional problem for expressivism can be avoided. After considering two forms of inferentialism that lead to revenge versions of the problem, I conclude by recommending that we understand the semantics of moral disagreements pragmatically: the source of univocity does not come from moral or semantic facts waiting to be described, but instead from the needs that ethical and semantic discourses answer – a solution to the problems of what we are to do and how we are to talk about it.     

Investigating the effects of multiple primes: An analysis of theoretical mechanisms

Is the size of a semantic-priming effect a function of the strength of the semantic context? This issue was examined in four studies using a single categorically related prime as the weaker context and four categorically related primes as the stronger context. Results indicate that, independently of prime-target SOA, four primes provide a larger priming effect than a single prime in a lexical-decision task, but not in a naming task. These data provide further support for the argument that different mechanisms mediate priming in the two tasks. In particular, only the lexical-decision task appears to be susceptible to higher-level processes that can be influenced by the number of primes. Priming in a naming task appears to be driven by more automatic processes. Possible accounts of this multiple-prime advantage in lexical-decision tasks are considered.     

Problem-oriented training promotes spontaneous analogical transfer: Memory-oriented training promotes memory for training

Spontaneous analogical transfer is the use of information from one problem to solve another problem, without an explicit hint to use the previous information. The results of five experiments were that if subjects tried to solve a training problem before hearing its solution, or tried to explain a training story's solution before hearing the correct explanation, spontaneous transfer was more likely than it was if subjects had studied the same training passage for memory before hearing its solution or explanation. The advantage of problem-oriented processing over memory-oriented processing occurred even though solution attempts nearly always failed, and the advantage was not reduced if the target problem was tested 15 min later rather than immediately after training. We propose that problem-oriented processes performed at study are appropriate processes to use at test. Further support for the account comes from subjects' memory for the training passages; the advantage for problem-oriented processing on solution tasks was mirrored by an equally substantial advantage for the memory-oriented subjects on a recall task.     

Response execution, selection, or activation: What is sufficient for response-related repetition effects under task shifting?

Repetition effects are often helpful in revealing information about mental structures and processes. Usually, positive effects have been observed when the stimuli or responses are repeated. However, in task shift studies it has also been found that response repetitions can produce negative effects if the task shifts. Although several mechanisms have been proposed to account for this interaction between task shifting and response repetition, many details remain open. Therefore, a series of four experiments was conducted to answer two questions. First, are motor responses necessary to produce response-related repetition effects, or is response activation sufficient? Second, does the risk of an accidental re-execution of the last response affect the repetition costs? The results show that response activation alone can produce repetition effects. Furthermore, the risk of accidental response re-execution largely modulates these effects.     

Temporal dynamics in attention bias: effects of sex differences,task timing parameters,and stimulus valence

New methods of calculating indices from the dot-probe task measure temporal dynamics in attention bias or fluctuations in attention bias towards and away from emotional stimuli over time. However, it is unclear how task-specific parameters such as stimulus valence and stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) as well as participant sex affect temporal dynamics in attention bias. To address this, male and female participants (N?=?106) completed either a fearful or happy face dot-probe task with four levels of SOA (84?ms, 168?ms, 336?ms, and 672?ms). Results suggest that temporal dynamics in attention bias are (1) greatest at the longest SOA, (2) greater in females, and (3) insensitive to stimulus valence. These findings indicate that participant sex and task timing, but not stimulus valence, are related to temporal dynamics in attention bias and should be considered in future studies utilizing this approach.     

Insightful problem solving and emulation in brown capuchin monkeys

We investigated problem solving abilities of capuchin monkeys via the “floating object problem,” a task in which the subject must use creative problem solving to retrieve a favored food item from the bottom of a clear tube. Some great apes have solved this problem by adding water to raise the object to a level at which it can be easily grabbed. We presented seven capuchins with the task over eight trials (four “dry” and four “wet”). None of the subjects solved the task, indicating that no capuchin demonstrated insightful problem solving under these experimental conditions. We then investigated whether capuchins would emulate a solution to the task. Seven subjects observed a human model solve the problem by pouring water from a cup into the tube, which brought the object to the top of the tube, allowing the subject to retrieve it. Subjects were then allowed to interact freely with an unfilled tube containing the object in the presence of water and objects that could be used to solve the task. While most subjects were unable to solve the task after viewing a demonstrator solve it, one subject did so, but in a unique way. Our results are consistent with some previous results in great ape species and indicate that capuchins do not spontaneously solve the floating object problem via insight.     

The art (and science) of seduction: Why,when, and for whom seductive details matter

In this commentary, the two critical attributes of seductive details are described through a historical lens: relevance and interest. For each of these attributes, various forms that have populated the seductive detail literature are distinguished, and the specific manner in which each is interpreted by contributors to the Special Issue is considered. The forms of relevance overviewed are personal, structural, instructional, and task relevance. For interest, distinctions between individual and situational interest are noted, and the concept of interestingness is delineated. With this historical backdrop, the studies in this Special Issue are analyzed, and four provocative questions are posed: When are “seductive details” not seductive? What contextual factors contribute to seduction? For whom is seduction a problem? When is the solution worse than the problem?     

Global perceptual processing in problem solving: The case of the traveling salesperson

The traveling salesperson problem (TSP) consists of finding the shortest tour around a set of locations and is an important task in computer science and operations research. In four experiments, the relationship between processes implicated in the recognition of good figures and the identification of TSP solutions was investigated. In Experiment 1, a linear relationship was found between participants’ judgments of good figure and the optimality of solutions to TSPs. In Experiment 2, identification performance was shown to be a function of solution optimality and problem orientation. Experiment 3 replicated these findings with a forced-pace method, suggesting that global processing, rather than a local processing strategy involving point-by-point analysis of TSP solutions, is the primary process involved in the derivation of best figures for the presented TSPs. In Experiment 4, the role of global precedence was confirmed using a priming method, in which it was found that short (100 msec) primes facilitated solution identification, relative to no prime or longer primes. Effects of problem type were found in all the experiments, suggesting that local features of some problems may disrupt global processing. The results are discussed in terms of Sanocki’s (1993) global-to-local contingency model. We argue that global perceptual processing may contribute more generally to problem solving and that human performance can complement computational TSP methods.     

A functional-cognitive framework for attitude research

In attitude research, behaviours are often used as proxies for attitudes and attitudinal processes. This practice is problematic because it conflates the behaviours that need to be explained (explanandum) with the mental constructs that are used to explain these behaviours (explanans). In the current chapter we propose a meta-theoretical framework that resolves this problem by distinguishing between two levels of analysis. According to the proposed framework, attitude research can be conceptualised as the scientific study of evaluation. Evaluation is defined not in terms of mental constructs but in terms of elements in the environment, more specifically, as the effect of stimuli on evaluative responses. From this perspective, attitude research provides answers to two questions: (1) Which elements in the environment moderate evaluation? (2) What mental processes and representations mediate evaluation? Research on the first question provides explanations of evaluative responses in terms of elements in the environment (functional level of analysis); research on the second question offers explanations of evaluation in terms of mental processes and representations (cognitive level of analysis). These two levels of analysis are mutually supportive, in that better explanations at one level lead to better explanations at the other level. However, their mutually supportive relation requires a clear distinction between the concepts of their explanans and explanandum, which are conflated if behaviours are treated as proxies for mental constructs. The value of this functional-cognitive framework is illustrated by applying it to four central questions of attitude research.     

TARGET ARTICLE: On Building a Better Process Model: It's Not Only How Many,but Which Ones and By Which Means?

The Quad Model proposes that four cognitive processes are pervasive across social behavior. I describe the model and compare it to dual- and uniprocess models. Distinguishing among the four processes can provide a more nuanced and accurate depiction of social behavior than can other models. It also allows the model to be applied to a much broader range of domains. A key problem for many dual-process models is that they confound processing style with either type of content (e.g., category vs. individuating information) or type of task (implicit vs. explicit tasks). As a result, these models have trouble assessing the joint influences of multiple processes. In contrast, the Quad Model provides estimates of the independent and simultaneous contributions of 4 key processes to social behavior.     

Global perceptual processing in problem solving: the case of the traveling salesperson.

The traveling salesperson problem (TSP) consists of finding the shortest tour around a set of locations and is an important task in computer science and operations research. In four experiments, the relationship between processes implicated in the recognition of good figures and the identification of TSP solutions was investigated. In Experiment 1, a linear relationship was found between participants' judgments of good figure and the optimality of solutions to TSPs. In Experiment 2, identification performance was shown to be a function of solution optimality and problem orientation. Experiment 3 replicated these findings with a forced-pace method, suggesting that global processing, rather than a local processing strategy involving point-by-point analysis of TSP solutions, is the primary process involved in the derivation of best figures for the presented TSPs. In Experiment 4, the role of global precedence was confirmed using a priming method, in which it was found that short (100 msec) primes facilitated solution identification, relative to no prime or longer primes. Effects of problem type were found in all the experiments, suggesting that local features of some problems may disrupt global processing. The results are discussed in terms of Sanocki's (1993) global-to-local contingency model. We argue that global perceptual processing may contribute more generally to problem solving and that human performance can complement computational TSP methods.     

Contextualization in Perspective

In this article, we examine the hypothesis that problem comprehension and computational processes interact during the solving of an arithmetic word problem. Two experiments tested subjects on a series of addition and subtraction word problems, the content of which varied on the basis of problem type and on the magnitude of the numbers involved (problem size). Performance data are presented and analyzed in terms of solution reaction times and error patterns. Results confirmed the main effects of problem size and problem type as factors determining reaction times but failed to show any significant interaction between the two factors. These results suggest that the cognitive processes involved in understanding an arithmetic word problem and in performing the required computations are best explained by a serial processing model. The absence of an interaction between problem comprehension and computational processes questions the notion that automatized retrieval facilitates problem solving and assertions suggesting that increasing computational requirements can interfere with problem-solving performance.     

代数应用题项目生成的结构分析方法

自动化项目生成是近年来兴起的测量领域, 是一种以项目认知加工理论为基础的原则性项目设计(principled item design)模式。其中, 如何在项目认知模型基础上, 通过任务结构分析的方式系统全面的鉴别和提取任务特征是一个关键环节。基于已有文献中代数应用题的命题分析法、网络语言分析法、关系-函数分析法、任务分析地图等四种结构分析方法, 研究探索了能够服务于自动化项目生成的代数应用题任务结构分析方法。该分析表明, 前三种方法分别对应于个体解题过程需要形成的三种中介表征, 即问题陈述背后的命题表征、事件时空关系的情境模型、以及变量间数量关系的问题模型, 第四种方法从过程角度分析了问题解决的认知需求。然而, 要实现项目生成的特征提取需求, 尚需对现有四种方法所揭示问题特征的心理现实性、特征提取的系统性和完备性、任务领域的适用范围、以及不同方法的整合等问题开展进一步研究。     

The dimensionality of the remember-know task: a state-trace analysis

This article addresses the issue of whether the remember-know (RK) task is best explained by a single-process or a dual-process model. All single-process models propose that remember and know responses reflect different levels of a single strength-of-evidence dimension. Thus, across conditions in which response criteria are held constant, these models predict that the RK task is unidimensional. Many dual-process models propose that remember and know responses reflect two qualitatively distinct processes underlying recognition memory, often characterized as recollection and familiarity. These models predict that the RK task is bidimensional. Using data from 37 studies, the author conducted a state-trace analysis to determine the dimensionality of the RK task. In those studies, non-memory-related differences between conditions were eliminated via decision criteria constrained to be constant across all levels of the independent variables. The results reveal little or no evidence of bidimensionality and lend additional support to the unequal-variance signal detection model. Other arguments supporting a bidimensional interpretation are examined, and the author concludes there is insufficient evidence for the RK task to be used to identify qualitatively different memory components.