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Rules and problem solving: another look.

Edmund Fantino1, Beth A Jaworski, David A Case

  • 1University of California at San Diego, Department of Psychology, La Jolla 92093-0109, USA. efantino@ucsd.edu

The American Journal of Psychology
|January 16, 2004
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

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Instructed problem solving can be flexible, not rigid. College students trained with a specific rule performed best, even on new problems, showing adaptable learning.

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Educational Psychology
  • Problem-Solving Research

Background:

  • The water jar problems, developed by Luchins (1942), are a classic tool for studying problem-solving behavior.
  • Previous research suggested that explicit instruction on a problem-solving rule might lead to cognitive rigidity.
  • Understanding the impact of instructed problem-solving on cognitive flexibility is crucial for educational strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate whether instructed problem-solving leads to cognitive rigidity or flexibility.
  • To examine how different training conditions influence students' ability to adapt problem-solving strategies.
  • To compare performance in training and transfer phases across different instructional groups.

Main Methods:

  • College students were divided into three groups, trained on water jar problems.

Related Experiment Videos

  • One group received explicit instruction that a single rule applied to all problems.
  • Other groups either lacked rule instruction or faced problems requiring varied solutions.

    • Main Results:

    • Students instructed on a specific rule performed best during training.
    • The instructed rule group also demonstrated superior performance on transfer tasks requiring a novel rule.
    • While some rigidity was observed, overall results indicated flexible problem-solving, contradicting assumptions of necessary rigidity.

    Conclusions:

    • Instructed problem-solving does not necessarily result in cognitive rigidity.
    • Learners can exhibit flexible problem-solving even when initially given a specific rule.
    • The findings support the notion that instructed problem-solving can be a flexible cognitive process.