Abstract
People often fail to retrieve examples analogous to a current problem or situation. There is good evidence that comparing structurally matching cases facilitates subsequent analogical access. However, current approaches offer little at the time of memory search to promote retrieval of a routinely encoded analogous source. We adapted Gick and Holyoak’s (1980, 1983) classic paradigm to investigate whether comparing two unsolved problems at test promotes retrieval of a single previously studied analogue. In Experiment 1, comparison of test problems facilitated analogical problem solving. Experiment 2 showed that comparison is the critical factor since solving two test problems separately proved ineffective. In Experiment 3, comparing two problems led to greater success for participants who read a prior analogous story than those who did not, demonstrating specifically that comparison facilitates retrieval. The three studies show that analogical access is powerfully determined by problem encoding. Implications for psychological theory and real-world applications are discussed.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
Barnett, S. M., &Ceci, S. J. (2002). When and where do we apply what we learn? A taxonomy for far transfer.Psychological Bulletin, 128, 612–637.
Carey, S. (1995). Continuity and discontinuity in cognitive development. In E. E. Smith & D. N. Osherson (Eds.),Thinking: An invitation to cognitive science (2nd ed., Vol. 3, pp. 101–129). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Catrambone, R. (2002). The effects of surface and structural feature matches on the access of story analogs.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,28, 318–334.
Catrambone, R., &Holyoak, K. J. (1989). Overcoming contextual limitations on problem-solving transfer.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,15, 1147–1156.
Chen, Z., &Klahr, D. (1999). All other things being equal: Acquisition and transfer of the Control of Variables Strategy.Child Development, 70, 1098–1120.
Clement, C. A., &Gentner, D. (1991). Systematicity as a selection constraint in analogical mapping.Cognitive Science,15, 89–132.
Clement, C. A., Mawby, R., &Giles, D. E. (1994). The effects of manifest relational similarity on analog retrieval.Journal of Memory & Language,33, 396–420.
Cummins Dellarosa, D. (1992). Role of analogical reasoning in the induction of problem categories.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,18, 1103–1124.
Dunbar, K. (2001). The analogical paradox: Why analogy is so easy in naturalistic settings yet so difficult in the psychology laboratory. In D. Gentner, K. J. Holyoak, & B. Kokinov (Eds.),The analogical mind: Perspectives from cognitive science (pp.313–3344). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
Duncker, K. (1945). On problem-solving (L. S. Lees, Trans.).Psychological Monographs,58, No. 270.
Forbus, K. D., Gentner, D., &Law, K. (1995). MAC/FAC: A model of similarity-based retrieval.Cognitive Science,19, 141–205.
Gentner, D. (1983). Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy.Cognitive Science,7, 155–170.
Gentner, D. (1989). The mechanisms of analogical learning. In S. Vosniadou & A. Ortony (Eds.),Similarity and analogical reasoning (pp. 199–241). New York: Cambridge University Press.
Gentner, D., &Loewenstein, J. (2002). Learning: Analogical reasoning. In J. W. Guthrie (Ed.),Encyclopedia of education (2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., &Thompson, L. (2003). Learning and transfer: A general role for analogical encoding.Journal of Educational Psychology,95, 393–408.
Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., &Thompson, L. (2004). Analogical encoding: Facilitating knowledge transfer and integration. In K. Forbus, D. Gentner, & T. Regier (Eds.),Proceedings of the Twenty-Sixth Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (pp. 452–457). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
Gentner, D., Loewenstein, J., & Thompson, L. (2007). Analogical encoding supports retrieval of prior analogs as well as transfer to future analogs. Manuscript in preparation, Northwestern University.
Gentner, D., &Medina, J. (1998). Similarity and the development of rules.Cognition,65, 263–297.
Gentner, D., &Rattermann, M. J. (1991). Language and the career of similarity. In S. A. Gelman & J. P. Byrnes (Eds.),Perspectives on language and thought: Interrelations in development (pp. 225–277). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gentner, D., Rattermann, M. J., &Forbus, K. D. (1993). The roles of similarity in transfer: Separating retrievability from inferential soundness.Cognitive Psychology,25, 524–575.
Gick, M. L., &Holyoak, K. J. (1980). Analogical problem solving.Cognitive Psychology,12, 306–355.
Gick, M. L., &Holyoak, K. J. (1983). Schema induction and analogical transfer.Cognitive Psychology,15, 1–38.
Goldstone, R. L., &Sakamoto, Y. (2003). The transfer of abstract principles governing complex adaptive systems.Cognitive Psychology, 46, 414–466.
Grant, E. R., &Spivey, M. J. (2003). Eye movements and problem solving: Guiding attention guides thought.Psychological Science,14, 462–466.
Holyoak, K. J., &Koh, K. (1987). Surface and structural similarity in analogical transfer.Memory & Cognition,15, 332–340.
Hummel, J. E., &Holyoak, K. J. (1997). Distributed representations of structure: A theory of analogical access and mapping.Psychological Review,104, 427–466.
Keane, M. T. (1985). On drawing analogies when solving problems: A theory and test of solution generation in an analogical problem-solving task.British Journal of Psychology,76, 449–458.
Kurtz, K. J. (2005). Re-representation in comparison: Building an empirical case.Journal of Experimental & Theoretical Artificial Intelligence, 17, 447–459.
Kurtz, K. J., Miao, C., &Gentner, D. (2001). Learning by analogical bootstrapping.Journal of the Learning Sciences,10, 417–446.
Lane, S. M., &Schooler, J. W. (2004). Skimming the surface: Verbal overshadowing of analogical retrieval.Psychological Science,15, 715–719.
Loewenstein, J., Thompson, L., &Gentner, D. (1999). Analogical encoding facilitates knowledge transfer in negotiation.Psychonomic Bulletin & Review,6, 586–597.
Medin, D. L., &Ross, B. H. (1989). The specific character of abstract thought: Categorization, problem solving, and induction. In R. J. Sternberg (Ed.),Advances in the psychology of human intelligence (Vol. 5, pp. 189–223). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Novick, L. R. (1988). Analogical transfer, problem similarity, and expertise.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,14, 510–520.
Novick, L. R., &Holyoak, K. J. (1991). Mathematical problem solving by analogy.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,17, 398–415.
Polya, G. (1945).How to solve it: A new aspect of mathematical method. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
Reeves, L. M., &Weisberg, R. W. (1994). The role of content and abstract information in analogical transfer.Psychological Bulletin,115, 381–400.
Ross, B. H. (1989). Distinguishing types of superficial similarities: Different effects on the access and use of earlier problems.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,15, 456–468.
Ross, B. H., &Kennedy, P. T. (1990). Generalizing from the use of earlier examples in problem solving.Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition,16, 42–55.
Simon, H. A. (1978). Information-processing theory of human problem solving. In W. K. Estes (Ed.),Human information processing (Handbook of Learning and Cognitive Processes, Vol. 5, pp. 271–295). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Spencer, R. M., &Weisberg, R. W. (1986). Context-dependent effects on analogical transfer.Memory & Cognition,14, 442–449.
Tulving, E., &Thomson, D. M. (1973). Encoding specificity and retrieval processes in episodic memory.Psychological Review,80, 352–373.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Kurtz, K.J., Loewenstein, J. Converging on a new role for analogy in problem solving and retrieval: when two problems are better than one. Memory & Cognition 35, 334–341 (2007). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193454
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193454