Related Experiment Videos
Following the wrong footsteps: fixation effects of pictorial examples in a design problem-solving task
Evangelia G Chrysikou1, Robert W Weisberg
1Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. lila@temple.edu
Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|October 27, 2005
Summary
Nonexperts often struggle with negative transfer in design problems, mistakenly using flawed pictorial examples. However, specific instructions can help mitigate this fixation, improving problem-solving.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Educational Technology
Background:
- Problem-solving often involves learning from examples.
- Pictorial examples can aid understanding but may also lead to negative transfer.
- Nonexperts may inappropriately apply elements from provided examples.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate negative transfer in nonexpert problem-solving using pictorial examples.
- To evaluate the effectiveness of 'fixation' and 'defixation' instructions.
- To understand how participants engage with and utilize examples.
Main Methods:
- Two experiments were conducted with nonexpert participants in a laboratory design problem-solving task.
- Experiment 1 used think-aloud protocols with control, fixation, and defixation conditions.
- Experiment 2 assessed fixation in nonverbalizing participants.
Main Results:
- Participants tended to follow inappropriate elements from examples, even when consulting instructions.
- Negative transfer was observed, with participants fixating on problematic example features.
- Defixation instructions significantly reduced the negative impact of flawed examples.
Conclusions:
- Pictorial examples can induce negative transfer in design problem-solving for nonexperts.
- Explicit instructions to avoid problematic elements (defixation) can effectively mitigate fixation.
- Understanding example-induced biases is crucial for designing effective learning materials.