File(s) under permanent embargo
Act first, think later: the presence and absence of inferential planning in problem solving
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-08, 21:35 authored by Thomas OrmerodThomas Ormerod, James N MacGregor, Edward P Chronicle, Andrew D Dewald, Yun ChuPlanning is fundamental to successful problem solving, yet individuals sometimes fail to plan even one step ahead when it lies within their competence to do so. In this article, we report two experiments in which we explored variants of a ball-weighing puzzle, a problem that has only two steps, yet nonetheless yields performance consistent with a failure to plan. The results fit a computational model in which a solver's attempts are determined by two heuristics: maximization of the apparent progress made toward the problem goal and minimization of the problem space in which attempts are sought. The effectiveness of these heuristics was determined by lookahead, defined operationally as the number of steps evaluated in a planned move. Where move outcomes cannot be visualized but must be inferred, planning is constrained to the point where some individuals apply zero lookahead, which with n-ball problems yields seemingly irrational unequal weighs. Applying general-purpose heuristics with or without lookahead accounts for a range of rational and irrational phenomena found with insight and noninsight problems.
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Memory and CognitionISSN
0090-502XPublisher
Springer-VerlagExternal DOI
Issue
7Volume
41Page range
1096-1108Department affiliated with
- Psychology Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2015-07-13Usage metrics
Categories
No categories selectedKeywords
Licence
Exports
RefWorks
BibTeX
Ref. manager
Endnote
DataCite
NLM
DC