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Reducing structural-element salience on a source problem produces later success in analogical transfer: what role
André Didierjean1, Sandra Nogry
1University of Provence and CNRS, Aix-en-Provence, France. andre@up.univ-mrs.fr
Memory & Cognition
|April 9, 2005
Summary
Making source problems more difficult improves analogical reasoning by helping individuals better notice similarities between problems. This enhanced difficulty aids in understanding structural features for improved problem-solving.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Psychology of Learning
Background:
- Reasoning by analogy is a key cognitive process.
- The difficulty of the source problem may influence analogical transfer.
- Reducing the salience of structural elements can increase source problem difficulty.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how inducing source difficulty affects analogical transfer.
- To test hypotheses regarding the mechanisms behind this effect.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted manipulating source problem difficulty.
- Experiment 1 used a cued-transfer situation.
- Experiment 2 assessed categorization of isomorphic problems based on structural features.
Main Results:
- Difficult source problems replicated spontaneous transfer effects in a cued-transfer situation.
- Subjects with difficult sources showed superior categorization of isomorphic problems by structural features.
Conclusions:
- Source problem difficulty enhances analogical transfer, likely by increasing the salience of structural similarities.
- Findings support the role of abstract representations in analogical reasoning.
- Implications for education suggest that carefully designed challenging problems can improve learning.
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