Abstract
This study examined the effects of similarity between the processing of acquisition and the processing of test materials on performance in a problem solving task. Previous work by Perfetto, Bransford, and Franks (1983) demonstrated that uninformed subjects’ failure to utilize relevant acquisition information in a later problem solving task is the result of a failure to spontaneously access such information. The present study demonstrated that spontaneous access can be enhanced when both acquisition and test materials are processed in a similar manner, that is, in a problem-oriented manner. Furthermore, the present findings indicate that the processing similarity leading to enhanced access is specific to particular acquisition and test items, rather than a general problem solving set induced at acquisition and the subsequent testing situation. Results are interpreted within a transfer-appropriate processing perspective.
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This research was supported in part by ARI contract number MDA903-84-0218 awarded to Jeffery J. Franks and John D. Bransford.
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Adams, L.T., Kasserman, J.E., Yearwood, A.A. et al. Memory access: The effects of fact-oriented versus problem-oriented acquisition. Mem Cogn 16, 167–175 (1988). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213486
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03213486