Knowledge Representations: Individual Differences in Novel Problem Solving.

The present study investigates how the quality of knowledge representations contributes to rule transfer in a problem-solving context and how working memory capacity (WMC) might contribute to the subsequent failure or success in transferring the relevant information. Participants were trained on individual figural analogy rules and then asked to rate the subjective similarity of the rules to determine how abstract their rule representations were. This rule representation score, along with other measures (WMC and fluid intelligence measures), was used to predict accuracy on a set of novel figural analogy test items, of which half included only the trained rules, and half were comprised of entirely new rules. The results indicated that the training improved performance on the test items and that WMC largely explained the ability to transfer rules. Although the rule representation scores did not predict accuracy on the trained items, rule representation scores did uniquely explain performance on the figural analogies task, even after accounting for WMC and fluid intelligence. These results indicate that WMC plays a large role in knowledge transfer, even when transferring to a more complex problem-solving context, and that rule representations may be important for novel problem solving.

Individual differences in creative cognition.

Creativity is becoming an increasingly desirable characteristic across a number of domains, but the processes underlying various creative abilities remain ambiguous. The most frequently used assessments of creativity (i.e., divergent thinking tasks; creative problem-solving tasks) differ in surface features and are also rarely examined together. These inconsistencies, in addition to mixed findings in the literature, have caused considerable debate among creativity researchers concerning the particular roles of independent or dual processes that lead to success on different creativity tests. The present study expounded upon these mixed findings using a factor analytic method. The results indicated that individual differences in working memory and fluency ability impact performance on divergent thinking and creative problem-solving tasks, but to differing degrees. These results are discussed as supporting a dual-process view of creative thinking. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Improving metacomprehension accuracy in an undergraduate course context.

Students tend to have poor metacomprehension when learning from text, meaning they are not able to distinguish between what they have understood well and what they have not. Although there are a good number of studies that have explored comprehension monitoring accuracy in laboratory experiments, fewer studies have explored this in authentic course contexts. This study investigated the effect of an instructional condition that encouraged comprehension-test-expectancy and self-explanation during study on metacomprehension accuracy in the context of an undergraduate course in research methods. Results indicated that when students received this instructional condition, relative metacomprehension accuracy was better than in a comparison condition. In addition, differences were also seen in absolute metacomprehension accuracy measures, strategic study behaviors, and learning outcomes. The results of the current study demonstrate that a condition that has improved relative metacomprehension accuracy in laboratory contexts may have value in real classroom contexts as well. (PsycINFO Database Record

Uncorking the muse: alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving.

That alcohol provides a benefit to creative processes has long been assumed by popular culture, but to date has not been tested. The current experiment tested the effects of moderate alcohol intoxication on a common creative problem solving task, the Remote Associates Test (RAT). Individuals were brought to a blood alcohol content of approximately .075, and, after reaching peak intoxication, completed a battery of RAT items. Intoxicated individuals solved more RAT items, in less time, and were more likely to perceive their solutions as the result of a sudden insight. Results are interpreted from an attentional control perspective.

New rule use drives the relation between working memory capacity and Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices.

The correlation between individual differences in working memory capacity and performance on the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) is well documented yet poorly understood. The present work proposes a new explanation: that the need to use a new combination of rules on RAPM problems drives the relation between performance and working memory capacity scores. Evidence for this account is supported by an item-based analysis of performance during standard administration of the RAPM and an experiment that manipulates the need to use new rule combinations across 2 subsets of RAPM items. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved).