Forgetting of competing solutions as a consequence of analogical problem-solving attempts

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Psychology
• Problem Solving
• Analogical Reasoning

Background:

• Cross-domain analogical transfer is crucial for problem-solving.
• Retrieval-induced forgetting (RIF) research suggests forgetting non-useful information aids transfer.
• Previous studies highlight competition from non-useful information sources.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of competition from non-useful information in cross-domain analogical transfer.
• To test the hypothesis that forgetting non-viable solutions is key to successful analogical problem-solving.
• To examine how the context of presenting viable and unviable solutions affects transfer.

Main Methods:

• Three experiments employed a paradigm based on Retrieval-Induced Forgetting (RIF) research.
• Participants were presented with texts containing multiple candidate solutions before attempting the Radiation problem.
• Memory for presented texts was tested, varying surface and structural similarity of solutions and their contexts.

Main Results:

• Forgetting unviable solutions with surface overlap to the target problem was less significant than prior work suggested.
• Greater evidence of forgetting occurred when unviable solutions were embedded within the same context as viable solutions.
• Findings indicate context plays a crucial role in the competition between solution concepts.

Conclusions:

• Competition from superficially similar, unviable solutions may not be the primary obstacle in analogical problem-solving.
• The main obstacle for analogical transfer appears to be the selection of relevant solution concepts.
• Future research should focus on the cognitive mechanisms underlying solution concept selection during analogical transfer.