Problem solving in semantically rich domains: An example from engineering thermodynamics

Recent research on human problem solving has largely focused on laboratory tasks that do not demand from the subject much prior, task-related information. This study seeks to extend the theory of human problem solving to semantically richer domains that are characteristic of professional problem solving. We discuss the behavior of a single subject solving problems in chemical engineering thermodynamics. We use as a protocol-encoding device a computer program called SAPA which also doubles as a theory of the subject's problem-solving behavior. The subject made extensive use of means-ends analysis, similar to that observed in semantically less rich domains, supplemented by recognition mechanisms for accessing information in semantic memory.