Rigidity as learned behavior.

Schroder, Harold M.; Rotter, Julian B.

doi:10.1037/h0060126

Cited by 21 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Discrimination reversal.-Studies of discrimination reversal have fre quently been viewed as "crucial experiments" for testing divergent interpre tations of discrimination learning (as, for example, in the continuity-dis continuity controversy) . An interpretation of "rigidity" as learned behavior is also proposed by Schroder & Rotter (141) who show that the propensity to shift from one solution to another in a card sorting problem depends on learned expectancies of alternative solutions. His results show progressive decreases in negative transfer effects as rever sals are continued.…”

Section: The Discrimination Of Signsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Learning

Tolman¹,

Postman²

1954

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

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THEORYBooks by Hull (74) and Guthrie (62) have brought their respective S-R' theories up to date. A brief article by Tolman (165) gives a pr�cis of his most recent general formulation. MacCorquodale & Meehl (110) have pre sented an elaboration of an earlier paper (112) in which they formalized ex pectancy theory by a set of postulates. They include reinforcement in addi tion to frequency of presentations, Sl-R1-$t, as probably an important determiner of expectancies.' This is the only point in their discussion to which the present reviewers would definitely take exception.Hull's last book (74) is of great significance and will long stand as a me morial to his creative genius. It presents in final form his basic postulates and corollaries. It also contains many ingenious, though often not very rigor ous, applications of these postulates and corollaries, through the derivation of theorems, to most of the factual problems of animal learning. One feature of the system as now presented, in which we naturally concur, is his latest equation for Reaction Potential, SEB = D X V, X K X SHB

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Section: The Discrimination Of Signsmentioning

confidence: 86%

Learning

Tolman¹,

Postman²

1954

Annu. Rev. Psychol.

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“…There have been many proposals as to the best way to prepare people for problem-solving tasks. It has been found that flexibility is a type of learned behavior in which the subject anticipates change and seeks to solve problems in alternative ways (1,41). Of course, subjects trained on repeated presentations of the same problem are generally more proficient in solving new problems of the same class than subjects trained on a variety of problems (2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Underlying (1,41). Of course, subjects trained on repeated presentations of the same problem are generally more proficient in solving new problems of the same class than subjects trained on a variety of problems (2).…”

Section: Rigidity In Children's Problem Solving 383mentioning

confidence: 98%

Rigidity in Children's Problem Solving*

Cunningham

1966

School Sci & Mathematics

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The growth within the past decade of so-called "discovery" approaches to teaching, particularly in the sciences, has been explosive. These approaches emphasize "inquiry," require a high degree of flexibility in thinking, and stress, more than did traditional curricula, divergent rather than convergent thought processes. This study originated in an attempt to identify some of the variables affecting rigidity in problem-solving behavior in hope that the exclusion or control of such variables might increase flexibility of thought. Of particular concern were the blinding effects of habit, specifically with what happens when, to quote Luchins, a habit "ceases to be a tool discriminately applied but becomes a procrustean bed to which the situation'must conform; when, in a word, instead of the individual mastering the habit, the habit masters the individual" (32).The problem of behavioral rigidity has been of perennial interest to psychologists. Whether the term Einstellung-effect, mental set, disposition, readiness, determining tendency, or other similar term is used, the concept of a predisposition to respond in a given way which can affect perception, reasoning, and memory becomes a very important one. Chown says, "Few major topics in contemporary psychology appear to offer more promise than rigidity, and the amount of work reported on this subject has been increasing year by year" (11).With their concepts of "fixation" and "style of life," Freud and Adier, respectively, described behavior consistently inappropriate or, at least, responsive only to a limited set of cues in a variety of situations (4, 23). These clinical approaches, however, failed to describe clearly the conditions eliciting the behavior except, perhaps, at a high level of generality.While the greatest impetus to research in rigidity in American psychology came with the publication of Luchins5 original work, numerous earlier investigators hinted at its existence (32). Chant, for example, found that many errors in problem solving were caused by an "interpretive" approach, in which old meanings and interpretations determined the response, rather than a fresh approach to the materials at hand (10).

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“…Similarly, there was a trend toward examining rigidity in relation to problem-solving performance in individuals (18,77,82). Rokeach,McGovney,and Denny (72) found support for the validity of the formulation of the construct of dogmatism and its differentiation from rigidity.…”

Section: Critical Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 91%

Chapter VI: Intellectual Processes

Lee¹,

Bingham²

1959

Review of Educational Research

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THis chapter summarizes the material on thinking which has appeared in the last six years, during which little significant research has been produced. As was noted in the previous REVIEW chapter (75), most of the research has been done at the college level, and its meaning for children is debatable. Only studies which have dealt directly with children or which have clear implications of significance for them have been included here. Partly because of the rapid recent development of concern in this area and partly in the hope that they may stimulate further research, some books and articles on theory have been included. The Nature of the Thinking ProcessThe general character of thinking challenged research workers, and efforts were made to synthesize existing investigations as well as to probe the dynamics of thinking. Johnson (47) and Bartlett (8) presented excellent opportunities for up-to-date orientation and mental stimulation in thinking and its related aspects. Along with the nature, methods for analysis, and classification of thought, Johnson included pertinent discussions of judgment. Price (70) rejected reduction of thinking to words and images and argued for the power of concepts.The outcome of part of the five-year program of the Cognition Project in the Laboratory of Social Relations at Harvard University was recorded by Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin (13). They described the nature of conceptualizing, and in reporting on a series of 20 experiments in concept attainment under a variety of conditions, integrated and evaluated theoretical issues in terms of the experiments reported. Russell (74) comprehensively studied children's thinking, discussing its backgrounds, materials, processes, and possible improvement. Galanter and Gerstenhaber (30) attempted to conceptualize the problem of the nature of thought from the S-R behavioral standpoint. Thurstone (86) reviewed hypotheses regarding creative talent and formulated suggestions helpful to research workers seeking ways to initiate exploratory and experimental studies.Piaget's careful, systematic investigation of the child's mental processes made significant contributions, stressing differentiation more than integration in the maturing process. In an important and noteworthy book with Inhelder, Piaget (44) attempted to isolate and describe mental structures which characterize the reasoning of the child of 7 to 11 years, then differentiated these structures from those which characterize the reasoning of early adolescents. They also reported on the perceptual aspect and structuring of the spatial field by children (67). Piaget's conclusion that sen-185 at UNIV ARIZONA LIBRARY on July 6, 2015 http://rer.aera.net Downloaded from REVIEW OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH Vol. XXIX, No. 2sorimotor substructure is essential in the development of conceptual expression (65) extended understanding of the origins of intelligence. Furthermore, Piaget defined intelligence in relation to adaptive processes, indicated that "grouping" operations according to definite structures made b...

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Rigidity as learned behavior.

Cited by 21 publications

References 4 publications

Learning

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Rigidity in Children's Problem Solving*

Chapter VI: Intellectual Processes

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