Task novelty and intelligence

Psychology students were presented with a mental puzzle based on knowledge of geometry, with several versions of Wason's selection task, and with some tasks of essay writing. Test scores were obtained on a sentence completion test and a test of spatial configuration. With the different problem-solving tasks, a relationship between success and intellectual ability was observed only in cases where the data indicated that the subjects were familiar with the task in question. The results support the theory previously set forth by Raaheim; that only in situations where the degree of novelty is moderate, will the intelligent use of past experience prove beneficial to problem solving.