PROBLEM-SPECIFIC INFORMATION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROBLEM-TYPE SCHEMATA

The proposition that problem-type schemata include both problem-specific and abstract information was examined. Recognition priming was used to capture schema acquisition as it evolves in analogical problem solving. Priming was used to show that Ss form associations in memory between problem-specific sentences drawn from analogous problems. In Experiment 1, Ss formed such associations but only when analogical transfer was facilitated. In Experiment 2, Ss formed associations only among sentences that related to abstract problem information. In Experiment 3, Ss did not form associations among sentences that interfered with access to abstract information during transfer. In Experiment 4, Ss accessed problem-specific sentences in problem-type schemata when given new problems of the same type. The results suggest that problem solvers retain problem-specific information in schemata because the information affords access to abstract information during transfer. Results are discussed in terms of a conservative generalization model of schema acquisition that emphasizes the importance of problem-specific information in problem solving.