This article proposes a unified framework for understanding creative problem solving, namely, the explicit-implicit interaction theory. This new theory of creative problem solving constitutes an attempt at providing a more unified explanation of relevant phenomena (in part by reinterpreting/integrating various fragmentary existing theories of…

How can humans acquire relational representations that enable analogical inference and other forms of high-level reasoning? Using comparative relations as a model domain, we explore the possibility that bottom-up learning mechanisms applied to objects coded as feature vectors can yield representations of relations sufficient to solve analogy…

The 3 most often-used performance measures in the cognitive and decision sciences are choice, response or decision time, and confidence. We develop a random walk/diffusion theory--2-stage dynamic signal detection (2DSD) theory--that accounts for all 3 measures using a common underlying process. The model uses a drift diffusion process to account…

How do people select among different strategies to accomplish a given task? Across disciplines, the strategy selection problem represents a major challenge. We propose a quantitative model that predicts how selection emerges through the interplay among strategies, cognitive capacities, and the environment. This interplay carves out for each…

A theory of the lay epistemic process is outlined. An integrative framework is provided that allows consideration of diverse attributional models in common theoretical terms and derivation of the necessary applicability conditions of different such models. (Author/RL)

A number of models are considered that specify how children and adults solve single-digit addition problems. (Authors)

Although partially specified goals are sometimes thought to result from the uncertainties of ill-structured problems, analysis of human problem solving shows that indefinite goals are used in solving problems that are otherwise well structured. The example studied is taken from plane geometry and involves proving that two triangles are congruent.…

A new theory of subjective probability is presented. According to this theory, different descriptions of the same event can give rise to different judgments. Experimental evidence supporting this theory is summarized, demonstrating that the theory provides a unified treatment of a wide range of empirical findings. (SLD)

A processing model is presented that deals explicitly with both the text-comprehension and problem-solving aspects of word arithmetic problems. The model simulates construction of cognitive representations at various levels, distinguishes several information processing steps, and analyzes processing requirements that differ among types of…

A model of information processing has been developed that combines concepts from the study of attention and the study of problem solving. The model has been realized as a computer program and used to simulate a variety of phenomena from the attention and performance literature. (Author/LMO)

Soft constraints hypothesis (SCH) is a rational analysis approach that holds that the mixture of perceptual-motor and cognitive resources allocated for interactive behavior is adjusted based on temporal cost-benefit tradeoffs. Alternative approaches maintain that cognitive resources are in some sense protected or conserved in that greater amounts…

A theory is proposed of the processes which enable a subject to learn while solving a problem. One subject's protocol--including 224 steps and taking 90 minutes--is described. Adequacy of the mechanisms is guaranteed by a computer simulation of the processes in an adaptive production system. (Author/GDC)

Mathematical models have become an important tool for understanding the control of eye movements during reading. Main goals of the development of the SWIFT model (R. Engbert, A. Longtin, & R. Kliegl, 2002) were to investigate the possibility of spatially distributed processing and to implement a general mechanism for all types of eye movements…

This article gives a comprehensive description of a theory for efficient assessment of knowledge. The essential concept is that the knowledge state of a subject, with regard to a specified field of information, can be represented by a particular subset of problems that the subject is capable of solving. (SLD)