Memory access: The effects of fact-oriented versus problem-oriented acquisition

Abstract

This study examined the effects of similarity between the processing of acquisition and the processing of test materials on performance in a problem solving task. Previous work by Perfetto, Bransford, and Franks (1983) demonstrated that uninformed subjects' failure to utilize relevant acquisition information in a later problem solving task is the result of a failure to spontaneously access such information. The present study demonstrated that spontaneous access can be enhanced when both acquisition and test materials are processed in a similar manner, that is, in a problem-oriented manner. Furthermore, the present findings indicate that the processing similarity leading to enhanced access is specific to particular acquisition and test items, rather than a general problem solving set induced at acquisition and the subsequent testing situation. Results are interpreted within a transfer-appropriate processing perspective.

The access of relevant information for solving problems

“…In the work on analogous problems, the consensus is that remindings are affected both by structural similarities between the problems (i.e., those aspects that are relevant to the problems' solutions) and by superficial similarities between the problems (e.g., Holyoak & Koh, 1987;Ross, 1987). In a similar vein, the recent work on accessing nonanalogous information has shown that access will increase if subjects can be cued to encode (and focus on) the relevant aspects (Stein et al, 1986) or if subjects process the information in a way that is similar to the way they will need to process it at the time the riddle is presented (e.g., Adams et al, 1988;Lockhart et al, 1988). Gentner and Landers (1985) and Stein et al (1986) also showed that superficial similarities can affect access.…”

“…This last finding provides further support for earlier studies (e.g., Perfetto et al, 1983;Weisberg et al, 1978) that indicated the difficultysubjectshad with spontaneously accessingrelevant information. If we are to learn what conditions promote access (e.g., Adams et al, 1988;Lockhart et al, 1988), it is also important to understand the conditions under which spontaneous access does not occur.…”

“…As the emphasis in problemsolving research has shifted to the knowledge required to solve problems, increasing attention has been focused on questions about the access and use of such knowledge (e. g., Adams et al, 1988;Gentner & Landers, 1985;Gick & Holyoak, 1980Holyoak & Koh, 1987;Lockhart, Lamon, & Gick, 1988;Perfetto, Bransford, & Franks, 1983;Ross, 1984Ross, , 1987Ross, , 1989aRoss, , 1989bStein, Way, Benningfield, & Hedgecough, 1986;Weisberg, DeCamillo, & Phillips, 1978). A number of these studies have shown that subjects often fail to transfer relevant knowledge spontaneously to a new situation.…”

“…Research concerned with the failure to access relevant information has proceeded along two related lines. The first line has tried to identify the factors that might improve access, such as the way in which the relevant information is processed (e.g., Adams et al, 1988;Lockhart et al, 1988), surface similarity (e.g., Gentner & Landers, 1985;Holyoak & Koh, 1987;Ross, 1984Ross, , 1987Stein et al, 1986), context (Spencer & Weisberg, 1986), and the comparison of instances (Dellarosa, 1985;Gick & Holyoak, 1983). The second related line of research has probed the nature of the retrieval process in these problem-solving situations.…”

Solving problems by analogy: The benefits and detriments of hints and depressed moods

“…Against a tradition that has mainly shown poor transfer of solution methods when hints to use prior analogues have not been provided, a few studies point to the importance of transferappropriate processing (e.g., Adams et al, 1988; Gick & McGarry, 1992;Lockhart, Lamon, & Gick, 1988;Stein, Way, Benningfield, & Hedgecough, 1986). Consider a set of experiments by Needham and Begg (1991): Some of their subjects tried to solve training analogues before they were taught their solutions, while the others studied the analogues and tried to remember them before the solutions were taught.…”