Date of Award

4-1984

Degree Name

Master of Arts

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Dale Brethower

Second Advisor

Dr. Paul Mountjoy

Third Advisor

Dr. Norman Peterson

Access Setting

Masters Thesis-Open Access

Abstract

Thirty adult undergraduates and graduate students were placed in one of three quantitative information content groups. The Ss received either High, Medium or Low Information Content (IC) in a concept formation paradigm designed to study the types of problem solving strategies used by Ss under varying amounts of information content. High IC Ss produced the optimal strategy— focusing— sooner and more often than Medium or Low IC Ss. Medium IC Ss did better than low IC Ss. High IC Ss increased their use of focusing over trials, while Medium and Low IC Ss only used focusing intermittently. Medium and Low IC Ss used a non-optimal strategy called hypothesis checking more than any other strategy. There was more variability in performance among Low IC Ss than among High IC Ss. All Ss in High IC were using focusing consistently by the last four problems, while some Low IC Ss showed development of focusing and others did not.

Included in

Psychology Commons

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