Gestalt psychologists proposed two distinct learning mechanisms. Associative learning occurs gradually through the repeated co-occurrence of external stimuli or memories. Insight learning occurs suddenly when people discover new relationships within their prior knowledge as a result of reasoning or problem solving processes that re-organize or…

Metacognition is one of the promising contemporary research fields in psychology and education. The concept has been introduced to describe and explain how people gain control over their learning and thinking, particularly in the case of cognitive failures and difficulties they meet when dealing with information processing and problem solving…

In this paper, Simon describes contemporary information processing approaches to the study of learning and thinking, and discusses the relevance of these studies to the distinction between rote and meaningful learning. Before defining the basic terminology of information processing research, he provides a brief literature review, describing some…

Reviews recent progress in modeling human cognition, in particular the use of computers in generating models. Topics covered include the information processing approach to cognition, problem solving, semantic memory, pattern induction, and learning and cognitive development. A 164-item reference list is attached. (JL)

Most current information processing theories of cognition and memory share one common feature: the structure (state-space) of memory is fixed and retrieval from memory involves searching through that structure. Learning, where it is treated at all, involves transforming one such structure into another. This form of representation is questioned and…

This paper reports an experiment designed to test theoretical relations among fast problem solving, more complex and slower problem solving, and research concerning fundamental memory processes. Using a cathode ray tube, subjects were presented with propositions of the form "Y is in list X" which they memorized. In later testing they were asked to…

In this study retrospective verbal reports were collected in order to study cognitive processes activated when solving simple additions. The research was devoted to a revision and validation of the earlier presented process model (Svenson 1975) by using retrospective verbal reports as a complement to the response latencies analyzed earlier.…

Focuses on human information processes and problem solving. Although a large body of knowledge is prerequisite to acquiring skill, the authors state that knowledge must be indexed by patterns that guide the person in a fraction of a second to relevant parts of the knowledge store. (Author/SA)

Much recent cognitive and artificial intelligence research has focused on the development of "schema theory." This theory supposes the existence of knowledge and memory structures that encode prototypical descriptions of familiar concepts. Schema theory has developed in a scientific environment that stresses interdisciplinary approaches…

This paper reviews current models of problem solving to identify results relevant to teachers or instructional developers. Four areas are covered: information processing models, approaches stressing human abilities and factors, creative problem solving models, and other aspects of problem solving. Part of a theme issue on intelligence. (Author/SJL)

Contributions in the first section of this volume are: "Learning to Identify Toy Block Structures" by Patrick Winston; "Beyond the Yellow-Volkswagen Detector and the Grandmother Cell: A General Strategy for the Exploration of Operations in Human Pattern Recognition" by Naomi Weisstein; "Visual Recognition in a Theory of Information Processing" by…

The cognitive revolution began in the 1950s as researchers began to move away from the study of knowledge acquisition and behaviorism to the study of information and the way it is processed. Four factors are discussed in chapter 1 as contributing to the increase in popularity of the "cognitive revolution" (increasing enthusiasm for the…

Progress is reported on four research tasks. An experiment tested the effectiveness of a computer-based phonology instructional system for second-language learning. In research on models of human-computer interactions, experiments were performed demonstrating that the provision of certain incentives to the users of a time-sharing system can have…