THE IDEAL PROBLEM SOLVER

THE IDEAL PROBLEM SOLVER

A Guide for Improving Thinking,
Learning, and Creativity

Second Edition

John D. Bransford
Barry S. Stein

rn
W. H. Freeman and Company
New York
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bransford, John.
The ideal problem solver : a guide for improving thinking,
learning, and creativity I John D. Bransford, Barry S. Stein.- 2nd
ed.
p. em.
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-7167-2204-6 (cloth).- ISBN 0-7167-2205-4 (pbk.)
1. Problem solving. 2. Thought and thinking. 3. Creative
ability. 4. Learning, Psychology of. I. Stein, Barry S.
II. Title.
BF449.73 1993
153.4'3-dc20 92-36163
CIP
Copyright 1984, 1993 by W. H. Freeman and Company
No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or
electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be
stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or
private use, without written permission form the publisher.
Printed in the United States of America
l 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 VB 9 9 8 7 6 5 4 3
 To
J. Rshle~ Bransford
and her outstanding namesakes:
Rnn Bransford and Jimmie Brown.

nnd to
Michael, Norma. and Eli Stein
 CONTENTS

PREFACE xiii

CHAPTER I
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROBLEM SOLVING

New Views about Thinking and Problem Solving 3

Some Common Approaches to Problems 7

Mental Escapes I0

The Purpose and Structure of This Book 12

Notes 13 • Suggested Readings 14

PART I
A fRAMEWORK FOR USING KNOWLEDGE
MORE EFFECTIVELY I7

CHAPTER 2
A MODEL FOR IMPROVING PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS 19
The IDEAL Approach to Problem Solving 19

Failure to Identify the Possibility of Future Problems 22

The Importance of Conceptual Inventions 26

The Importance of Systematic Analysis 27

The Importance of Using External Representations 29

Some Additional General Strategies 30

The Importance of Specialized Concepts and Strategies 3 I

. . Contents

The Importance of Acting on Strategies to Evaluate Outcomes 35

The IDEAL Cycle 38

Blocks to Creative Problem Solving 39

Summary 40 • Exercises 41 • Notes 48 • Suggested Readings 49

CHAPTER 3
CREATIVITY AND THE IDEAL FRAMEWORK 51
Identify Problems and Opportunities 52

Define Alternative Goals 55

Explore Possible Strategies 60

Anticipate and Act 67

Look and Learn 71

The IDEAL Cycle and Creativity 75

Summary 76 • Exercises 77 • Notes 79 • Suggested Readings 81

CHAPTER 4
INTELLIGENT CRITICISM 83
The Importance of Evaluating Arguments 83

Three Ways of Critically Evaluating Arguments 85

The Analysis of Factual Claims 86

Evaluating the Reasoning of Arguments 92

The Analysis of Key Assumptions I00

Summary I04 • Exercises I 05 • Notes I09 • Suggested Readings I I0

CHAPTER 5
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATION I I 3
The Importance of Identifying Communication Problems I 13

Three Ways of Defining Communication Goals 114

Message 115
 Contents-

Audience I 16

Presentation Medium 122

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Attempts to Communicate 126

Summary 128 • Exercises 128 • Notes 129 • Suggested Readings 130

PART2
A MODEL FOR ACQUIRING NEW KNOWLEDGE 131

CHAPTER 6
IMPROVING MEMORY SKILLS 133
Remembering as Problem Solving 134

Understanding Basic Memory Processes 137

Strategies for Remembering 144

Adapting and Inventing Memory Strategies 153

Summary 155 • Exercises 157 • Notes 159 • Suggested Readings 160

CHAPTER 7
LEARNING WITH UNDERSTANDING 163
Comprehension as Problem Solving 164

Learning about New Areas of Knowledge 168

Anticipating Outcomes and Acting on Comprehension Strategies 179

Looking at the Effects and Learning to Learn 185

The IDEAL Cycle and Lifelong Learning 186

Summary 187 • Exercises 188 • Notes 190 • Suggested Readings 193

CHAPTER 8
INSTRUCTION THAT FACILITATES PROBLEM SOLVING 195
Why Problem Solving Needs to Be an Integral Part of Education 196

Problems with Traditional Approaches to Instruction 197

-Contents

Organizing Learning Around Problem Solving 200

General Issues Related to Problem-Based Learning 208

The Importance of Opportunities for Assessment 21 I

Summary 21 3 • Notes 215 • Suggested Readings 217

CHAPTER 9
CONCLUDING REMARKS 219
The Development of Problem-Solving Skills 220

Attitudes 220

Notes 222

APPENDIX A
ANSWERS TO PROBLEMS IN TEXT 223
APPENDIX B
ANSWERS TO ExERCISES 22 9
APPENDIX C
IDEAL PROBLEM NAVIGATION GUIDE 249
AUTHOR INDEX 255
SUBJECT INDEX 259
 PREFACE

This book is not simply for people who love the intellectual challenge of
solving problems. It is also for people who dislike problem solving or who
feel intimidated by problems. And it is for people who want to help
others solve problems. For example, many parents may find this book
useful for helping their children perform better in school. Business lead-
ers who recognize the importance of skills that enable their employees to
identify and solve potential problems may also find this book useful. In
addition, we believe that this book can provide a helpful tool for edu-
cators and researchers. For example, we have tried to illustrate how
knowledge acquisition and knowledge production activities such as class-
room teaching and scientific research are instances of problem solving.
By becoming more aware of the processes used to solve problems, people
can improve their learning and their abilities to use knowledge to solve
new problems that they face.
We do not claim that this book will dramatically increase your IQ,
make you wealthy, or free you from all personal problems. However,
based on our work with high school. college, and even graduate students,
and with teachers, administrators, and business leaders, we are confident
that you will find something of value that you can use for the rest of your
life . It has been our experience that different people find different parts of
the book valuable, probably because people have different strengths and
weaknesses with respect to problem solving. Nevertheless, we have not
yet met anyone who felt that they learned nothing from this book.
We believe that this second edition of The IDEAL Problem Solver
represents a significant advance over the first edition. In talking and
working with people who have used the first edition, we have had the
opportunity to focus on the final component of IDEAL: looking at the
effects of our earlier efforts and learning from them.
We thank the hundreds of people who have given us feedback.
Some have shown us how they have creatively applied the IDEAL frame-
work to problems such as enhancing their professional growth, improv-
- Preface

ing their grades, and interacting with their children. They have used
IDEAL in creative ways that we never imagined and that have taught us
a great deal. Others have helped us see the need to clarify the IDEAL
framework.
In this edition we have modified the framework to make it easier to
understand and apply. For example, we have modified both the "define
problems" and the "act on strategies" components of the original IDEAL
framework. The changes take into account the fact that the way we
define our problem -solving goals affects our perception of problems and
constrains the types of strategies we explore. They also reflect the impor-
tance of anticipating the outcome of particular strategies before they are
fully implemented. The new edition includes many new examples and
exercises that will make it easier to understand and apply the IDEAL
framework. Finally, we have added a new chapter that explores strategies
for improving how schools and organizations prepare people to think and
solve problems.
This edition has benefited from the efforts of hundreds of dedicated
researchers in human thinking and problem solving. Thanks to them, we
now have a better understanding of the nature of problem solving than
we had before. We have tried to keep this book as "user oriented" as
possible, and hence we do not spend a great deal of time discussing the
scholarly literature on problem solving. Nevertheless, this literature has
had a profound effect on our thinking, and we are grateful to all of the
people who contribute to it.
It is impossible to thank everyone for the contributions they have
made to this book. However, some people have had such a long-term,
fundamental impact on our thinking that they deserve special mention.
These include Jeff Franks, Jim Jenkins, Bob Shaw, and Walter Weimer.
Rick Barclay, Marcia Johnson, and Nancy McCarrell have also made
significant contributions to our development. Others who have made
major contributions include Ruth Arbitman-Smith, Ann Brown, Joe
Campione, Keith Clayton, Reuven Feuerstein, Carl Haywood, and Mil-
dred Hoffman. Nevertheless, none of these people should be held respon-
sible for any of our mistakes.
Some of the people who have played especially strong roles in
guiding our thinking for this edition are Linda Barron, Bill Corbin, Jim
Dickinson, Linda Giesbrecht-Bettoli, Laura Goin, Elizabeth Goldman, Su-
san Goldman, Bob Harwood, Ted Hasselbring, Richard Johnson, Charles
Kinzer, Alison Moore, Jim Pellegrino, John Pigg, Victoria Risko, Deborah
Rowe, Diana Miller Sharp, Robert Sherwood, Richard Troelstrup, Jim
 Preface . .

Van Haneghan, Nancy Vye, Susan Warren, Susan Williams, and Mike
Young.
We are also grateful for the opportunity to work closely with many
people who completed their graduate training at Vanderbilt-people who
taught us a great deal. These include Lea Adams, Pam Auble, Sue Burns,
David Chattin, Vic Delclos, Jon Doner, Joan Littlefield, Karen Mezynski,
Don Morris, Greg Perfetto, and Nancy Vye. Reviews of this book by
Bunny Bransford, Wesley Henry, Joy Henshall, Richard Mayer, Thomas
Mosley, and Robert Sternberg have also been very helpful. In addition,
we are grateful to the many students at Tennessee Technological Univer-
sity and Vanderbilt University who have participated in our courses on
problem solving and provided us with feedback.
We are especially grateful to members of our familes who have been
instrumental in helping us prepare this second edition. We thank Bunny
Bransford, Jason Bransford, Ashley Bransford, Camille Bransford, Ada
Haynes, and Michael Stein for all their help. Without them, we could not
have improved and completed this edition.
Finally, we thank Faapio Poe for her excellent assistance in helping
us prepare the second edition manuscript and Diana Siemens and Gina
Goldstein for their helpful editorial suggestions.
A number of people have asked whether we, as authors of The
IDEAL Problem Solver, are ourselves ideal problem solvers. If you think of
an ideal problem solver as someone who always knows or can immedi-
ately derive the answer to every problem, then the answer is no, we are
not ideal problem solvers. As you read this book, however, you will see
that our ideal problem solver is someone who continually attempts to
improve by paying attention to his or her processes and by learning from
any mistakes that are made. It is this commitment toward becoming an
ideal problem solver-toward continuing to learn each day-that we
endorse and try to live by. We find that it is an exciting commitment
because we learn something new almost every day.
It is our hope that you too will find it valuable to think about your
own problem-solving processes and that, by analyzing them, you will
enjoy the continual challenge of discovering ways that they can be im-
proved. And as you make discoveries and observations, we would love to
hear from you. Your ideas will help us continue to learn.

John D. Bransford
Barry S. Stein
January 1993
THE IDEAL PROBLEM SOLVER
 THE IMPORTANCE
OF PROBLEM SOLVING

The date was October 16, 1962. The president and spedal members of
the Executive Committee of the National Security Coundl met in an
emergency session. Information had just been obtained that the Soviet
Union was in the process of building missile-launching bases in Cuba.
The missiles were capable of carrying nuclear warheads that could
destroy most major dties in the Western Hemisphere. During six days of
secret meetings, these men had to develop a plan that would remove or
destroy the missile bases before they became operational.
Several different plans were considered and evaluated. One plan
called for an air strike that would quickly destroy all the missile in-
stallations. Another called for a naval blockade that might then be
followed by an air strike or invasion if the missile bases were not volun-
tarily removed. After the blockade plan was selected, the president
made a televised speech in which he conveyed details of the crisis to the
nation and explained the immediate course of action that would be
taken.
Many historians consider the Cuban missile crisis the closest the
world has come to an all-out nuclear war. Had these men selected a dif-
ferent course of action for the problem they confronted, the world as we
know it might have changed drastically. In any case, we, the people of
the world, would have had to live with the solution they formulated,
for better or for worse. Such historical events dramatically illustrate the
significance of problem-solving skills. 1
- The Ideal Problem Solver

It is instructive to stop and think about the many ways in which our lives
are influenced by attempts to solve problems. We studied problem solv-
ing for some time before we began to appreciate the following point,
which now seems obvious: Our lives are influenced tremendously by the
solutions to problems that were proposed and implemented by people
who preceded us in history. Solutions to problems such as the Cuban
missile crisis and polio stand out as prime examples. However, many
more solutions proposed by others have had an even greater impact on
our daily lives. For example, you may not think of such things as stop
signs, traffic signals, or rules about which side of the road to drive· on as
solutions to problems, but they are. Many of them were originated by
William Eno, often called the father of traffic safety. Eno, who was born
in New York City in 1858, became concerned about the problem of
massive traffic jams (involving horse-drawn vehicles) caused by the ab-
sence of traffic regulations. Eno published an article entitled "Reform
in Our Street Traffic Urgently Needed" and thereby focused people's at-
tention on an important problem. He also proposed solutions for this
problem, such as stop signs, one-way streets, and pedestrian safety is-
lands-ideas we take for granted today.
Laws and rules represent only a small part of our everyday lives that
are affected by other people's solutions to problems. Such artifacts as
furniture, clothing, tools, and appliances are also the result of attempts to
solve problems. Even our language and number systems are inventions
that allow people to solve problems. Imagine the difficulties we would
experience if we did not have a language for expressing our ideas, or if
we had only a spoken language but no system for producing and inter-
preting written language. Number systems are equally important. These
inventions make it possible to solve a variety of problems that otherwise
might be impossible or at least very difficult to solve.
Many of our solutions create new problems of their own. Cars
increase the probability of pollution; advances in physics can increase the
potential for menacing weapons; medical breakthroughs often raise new
ethical dilemmas about life and death; new inventions like computers
place new demands on people's ability to learn. It seems that we will
always need effective thinkers and problem solvers. Indeed, researchers
such as Lauren Resnick2 and Ray Nickerson 3 argue that now more than
ever, increasingly rapid changes in society require citizens who can think,
reason, and solve problems on their own. In modern factories, for ex-
ample, managers want employees who can spot problems that have gone
unrecognized and do something about them. Many companies are at-
 The Importance of Problem Solving

tempting to improve their operations by helping their employees to

develop more effective problem-solving skills.

I New Views about Thinking and Problem Solving

How do you rate yourself as a problem solver? We find that people's
answers to this question depend on their beliefs about the nature of
thinking and problem solving. We will discuss several important ideas
about problem solving in the following paragraphs.

Is Problem-Solving Rbilit~ Determ ined b~ Intelligence?

Many people tend to equate the ability to solve problems with the
general concept of intelligence. If they have received poor or average
scores on intelligence tests, they feel that they are poor or average prob-
lem solvers as well.
During the past decade, researchers have developed a number of
important new ideas about the nature of intelligence and its relationship
to problem solving. An excellent example stems from the work of Ulrich
Neisser4 who argued for the need to differentiate "academic intelligence"
from "practical intelligence." Typical intelligence tests tend to predict how
well people do in academic settings. High scores on such tests, however,
are no guarantee of successful everyday problem solving. You may have
met someone who is very proficient academically but does quite poorly
at ordinary problem-solving tasks.
Theorists such as Richard Wagner and Robert Sternberg 5 have
begun to explore in detail the concept of academic versus practical intel-
ligence. They find that typical intelligence tests do very poorly at predict-
ing real-world success, such as success in business. They have constructed
tests of practical intelligence that do a much better job of predicting
people's everyday success. Howard Gardner's 6 work on multiple intel-
ligences also indicates the need to stop thinking about problem-solving
ability as equivalent to scores on standard intelligence tests.
One danger of believing that typical measures of intelligence can
predict success in thinking and problem solving is that these beliefs can
lead to self-fulfilling prophecies. For example, research by Carol Dweck 7
indicates that people may avoid tasks in which they initially experience
failure if they believe that intelligence is a fixed entity that someone
either has or doesn't have. David Schwartz, 8 a business consultant, voices
- The Ideal Problem Solver

a similar concern about self-fulfilling prophecies. He notes that one of the

major barriers that holds people back in business is their belief that they
are "not smart enough." Schwartz argues quite strongly that factors other
than intelligence test scores are much more important in determining
success.

The Importance of Specific Hnowledge

In addition to identifying the need to expand our traditional ideas about
the nature of intelligence, research conducted during the past two
decades shows that problem-solving abilities often depend on specialized
knowledge in a discipline. Our ability to solve problems is not simply
equivalent to a set of general problem-solving skills. One implication of
this conclusion is that the same individual may be both good and poor at
problem solving, depending on the nature of the problem. A brain sur-
geon may be brilliant in the operating room but be unable to solve a
plumbing problem.
Imagine the problem of looking at a chessboard that shows a game
after 20 moves and predicting who is going to win and why. We made a
videotape of two people attempting this task. One of them, James, was
very good at predicting the winner and explaining his answer. The other,
Rob, did quite poorly and could not analyze the situation in depth. People
who see the videotape remark that it is easy to believe that one is simply
smarter than the other. But in fact, both are successful individuals. Some-
thing else is going on.
Now imagine another task. You are shown the code for a computer
program and are also shown that it does not do what it was supposed to
do. The problem is to find the bug (error) in the program so that it can be
fixed. We have a videotape of the same two individuals trying to solve
this problem, and once again, one does well and the other doesn't. This
time, however, it is Rob who does well and James who does poorly.
You can probably guess the reason for the differences in James's and
Rob's performance. James has spent literally thousands of hours playing
chess; Rob has spent only ten. Conversely, Rob has spent hundreds of
hours debugging computer programs written by his students, whereas
James's programming experience is much more limited. Overall, the
ability of James and Rob to solve problems is strongly affected by the
amount of experience they have had in particular areas.
Micheline Chi, Robert Glaser, and Marshall Farr note that re-
searchers in cognitive science have shown clearly that the ability to solve
problems is strongly affected by the amount and organization of people's
 The Importance of Problem Solving . .

knowledge about an area (for example, chess, biology, sports, computers,

physics, card games such as bridge). 9 Similarly, the ability to solve intel-
lectual puzzles is strongly affected by people's experience with these
kinds of problems. For example, if you work with puzzles like the ones
shown below, you gradually learn that there are tricks of the trade that
can help you find solutions with relative ease (see Appendix A for
answers). The same is true with the kinds of problems that are frequently
found on intelligence tests (for example, verbal analogies such as "doctor
is to hospital as mechanic is to ") .
Solve the three puzzles below.

GSGE ECNALG BAN ANA

GESG
SGEG

These observations are important because they illustrate the power-

ful effects that experience can have on problem solving, as well as the
limitations of such expertise for solving problems in other domains. The
beneficial effects of specialized knowledge are constrained by the prob-
lem domain (for example, playing chess, computer progamming). The
beneficial effects of specialized knowledge are also constrained by the
goals we have in a particular problem domain. For example, in the pre-
vious discussion we noted that James was very good at predicting the
winners of chess games; we doubt, however, that his specialized
knowledge of chess would allow him to do any better than Rob if the goal
were to determine whether the chess game was played by right- or
left-handed players or to determine the age of the chess pieces. The
interaction of these three variables (specialized knowledge, problem do-
main, and specific goals) in thinking and problem-solving tasks is il-
lustrated in Figure l. The tetrahedral model of thinking (adapted from
Jim Jenkins 10 ) also shows that the ability to use specialized knowledge to
solve problems can be influenced by general thinking and problem-solv-
ing skills. We will discuss these general skills in Chapter 2, when we
explore a model for improving thinking and problem solving.

Routine Versus Non routine Problems

When thinking about problem-solving abilities (either your own or
others'), it is important to distinguish between routine and nonroutine
problems. A routine problem is one that is familiar to an individual
because it is similar to a problem that he or she has solved before. In
- The Ideal Problem Solver

Specialized
knowledge and skills

General thinking and Problem -solving

problem-solving skills goals

Problem domain

Rgure 1 Tetrahedral model of problem solving. Adapted from Jenkins

(1979).

contrast, a nonroutine problem is novel and requires nevv thinking. The

important point is that any given problem may be relatively routine for one
person and nonroutine for another. In general, it is much easier to solve
problems that are routine than ones that are not.
Consider James and Rob, whom we discussed earlier. In chess, cer-
tain board configurations and patterns of moves and countermoves are
classics that are routine to chess experts like James but not to relative
novices like Rob. Similarly, anyone who has taught computer program-
ming knows that there are routine patterns of bugs in student programs
that are very likely to occur. Familiarity with these basic patterns makes
it much easier to spot bugs and correct them.
An article in the magazine Dogfancy 11 illustrates the advantages of
dealing with routine problems. In the article, a dog owner writes that he
installed a dog door for his two dogs. One uses it all the time. The
younger one (five years old) uses it to go out but will never use it to come
back in. What can he do?
The dog expert, Bardi McLennan, began by asking whether the door
offers the dog the same angle of entrance from each side. She then stated,
"One of my dogs alerted me to this one. When I placed a large flat stone
as a step outside the door, he was able to go through in both directions in
the same body posture." Note that the pet owner's problem reminded
McLennan of a similar problem that she herself had encountered and
 The Importance of Problem Solving -

solved. As Roger Schank notes, these "remindings" of similar problems

often occur to experts and hence make their problem solving routine. 12
McLennan realized that the angle of entrance might not be the only
feature that was responsible for the dog owner's problem. Therefore, she
also discussed other possible causes, such as that sunlight might be
reflected off the door from the outside and this might keep the dog from
entering, or that the flap of the door might have hit the younger dog in
the face when it was following the older dog in from outside, making it
wary of the entrance. Overall, McLennan's discussion of the possible
causes of the problem, plus her suggested solutions, seemed to come from
her great deal of experience with dogs over her career. It is a good bet that
this experience makes many of the problems she is asked to solve seem
relatively routine.
Whenever you assess people's problem-solving abilities (including
your own), it is important to ask whether the problem is relatively
routine or nonroutine for the particular problem solver. We say "relative-
ly" routine or nonroutine because most problems will fall somewhere in
between. The important point is that even people who are experts in a
particular area often have to deal with nonroutine problems. Further-
more, they will not deal as efficiently with nonroutine problems as they
will with problems that are routine for them. Problem-solving books like
this one are designed to help people learn to deal with nonroutine prob-
lems. Anyone who is involved in cutting-edge work needs skills for deal-
ing with the nonroutine.

Our Definition of Problem

Throughout this book, we will deal with problems that are probably
nonroutine for you. In fact, most theorists' definitions of "problem" as-
sume that it is nonroutine. The definition that we will use is this: "A
problem exists when there is a discrepancy between an initial state and a
goal state, and there is no ready-made solution for the problem solver."
The initial state is where you are as you begin the problem; the goal state
is where you want to end up when you solve it. The lack of a ready-made
solution is illustrated by the maze shown in Figure 2.

I Some Common Approaches to Problems

A framework for dealing with nonroutine problems is discussed in the
next chapter. For now, we emphasize the need to begin to pay attention
- The Ideal Problem Solver

Goal
State

Present
State

Rgure 2 A problem exists when an obstacle separates the present state from
the goal state.

to your own approach to problem solving, especially when you are deal-
ing with nonroutine problems where answers do not come to mind
immediately. When people begin to analyze their approaches to prob-
lems, many discover that they often employ a "let me out of here" ap-
proach when a problem seems difficult. At times like these there is a
natural tendency to attempt to get out of the situation and do something
else that is associated with a higher probability of success.
Over time, the let-me-out-of-here approach can result in self-fulfill-
ing prophecies. For example, people who initially have difficulty solving
math problems may come to believe that they have no math ability; they
may then avoid situations in which they must deal with math problems.
Since these people receive little practice with math because they avoid it,
their initial hypothesis about not being able to solve math problems is
quite likely to come true. In general, it seems clear that people who avoid
 The Importance of Problem Solving -

dealing with problems place limitations on themselves that are not neces-
sarily there to begin with.
In our classes on problem solving we often present the following
problem. Imagine that the right front turn signal on your car stops work-
ing. Try to figure out why it won't work. For many people, the reaction
to this problem is "I don't know anything about cars." Therefore, they
assume that they cannot solve the problem. Once they are encouraged to
think about the problem, however, they discover that they know more
than they realized. For example, a turn signal presumably requires a
bulb, just as a lamp does. Similarly, both a lamp and a turn signal un-
doubtedly require some power supply. The first step in diagnosing trouble
with a turn signal, therefore, might be to ask whether the problem is
caused by the bulb or the power supply. As a test, we could replace the
bulb on the right (the broken side) with the one from the left turn signal.
If the good bulb still does not work, we could then consider possible
problems with the power supply-for example, a fuse may have blown.
The important point is that most people can do a relatively good job of
figuring out why something like a turn signal is not working, if they think
about the problem.
Negative reactions not only keep us from solving problems that we
could solve but also can keep us from exploring new areas. For example,
while participating in a weekend workshop on sports psychology, a friend
of ours became aware of ways he was limiting himself unnecessarily. Part
of the workshop was spent competing with others in such events as
Indian wrestling, leg wrestling, and arm wrestling. A major goal of these
activities was to help people explore their feelings about winning and
losing. Since our friend was quite muscular, he won most of these events.
Nevertheless, he felt sure that he was a humble winner; that is, he was
confident that his ego would not have been shattered had he lost.
Later in the workshop the activities turned from more muscle-
oriented events (such as arm wrestling) to more coordination-oriented
events. In particular, participants in the workshop were asked to learn a
new type of intricate dance. As the dance instruction proceeded, our
friend, who had always believed that he couldn't dance, found that he
was making many more errors than were others in the group (for ex-
ample, he kept turning the wrong way).
Our friend's most important discovery was that he had a strong
reaction to his dilemma: "This workshop has gotten ridiculous; I'm going
to leave." He almost did leave but was persuaded by the instructor to stay
(the instructor was watching for such reactions and knew how to deal
with them). The instructor then recruited some volunteers to work with
. . The Ideal Problem Solver

our friend (and with several other individuals in a similar predicament)

until they had mastered the dance. According to our friend, this was a
very significant experience. It made him realize that he had been avoid-
ing a number of situations because they were difficult at first. As a result
of his experience, our friend resolved to increase his "courage span"
when dealing with uncomfortable situations. Wertime 13 provides an ex-
cellent discussion of the concept of courage spans.

I Mental Escapes
Actually walking away from important problems is a relatively extreme
negative approach to problem solving. In other cases, people may men-
tally walk away without physically removing themselves. For example,
people often think that they are diligently trying to complete tasks, yet
when prompted to stop and think about it, they realize that they have not
been attending to the problem to be solved.
Consider the activity of studying a text or one's notes to prepare for
a test. Most people have had the experience of going through the mo-
tions of reading and suddenly realizing that nothing has registered; their
attention was directed somewhere other than toward the material to be
learned. Similar difficulties can arise when listening to lectures. We begin
to think about something else and only later realize we missed what was
said.
John Holt 14 notes that attention can be an important factor in class-
room learning:

During many of the recitation classes, when the class supposedly is work-
ing as a unit, most of the children paid very little attention to what was
going on. Those who most needed to pay attention, usually paid the least.
The kids who knew the answer to whatever question you were asking
wanted to make sure that you knew they knew, so their hands were
always waving . ... But most of the time, when explaining, questioning,
or discussing what was going on, the majority of children paid very little
attention or none at all.

Holt's observations suggest that differences in attention have important

effects on the degree to which people learn. He also suggests that most of
us have imperfect control of our attention.

Watching older kids study, or try to study, I saw after a while that they
were not sufficiently self-aware to know when their minds had wandered
 The Importance of Problem Solving . .

off the subjed. .. . Most of us have very imperfect control over our atten-
tion . Our minds slip away from duty before we realize that they are gone.
Lack of attention to a task is not simply a result of laziness or lack of
interest. Attention can also be affected by fear and anxiety. For example,
it can be very difficult to focus attentively on a problem while we are
concerned with competing thoughts about personal problems or about
fears that we may fail.
Difficulties caused by competing thoughts can be illustrated by con-
sidering a problem we presented to a number of college students. We
asked them to note their thoughts and feelings from the moment they
read the following problem. You might try this, too.

Two train stations are 50 miles apart. At I P.M. on Sunday a train pulls
out from each of the stations, and the trains start toward one another.
Just as the trains pull out from the stations a hawk flies into the air in
front of the first train and flies ahead to the front of the second train.
When the hawk reaches the second train, it turns around and flies
toward the first train. The hawk continues in this way until the trains
meet. Assume that both trains travel at a speed of 25 miles per hour
and that the hawk flies at a constant speed of I00 miles per hour. How
many miles will the hawk have flown when the trains meet?

For many of the students, initial reactions to the problem included

such thoughts as "Oh no, this is a mathematical word problem-! hate
those things"; "Boy, am I going to look stupid"; and "I hope I don't have
to turn in my answer." Furthermore, these negative thoughts occurred
often throughout the five minutes allotted to the task. Such thoughts
make it difficult to concentrate on problems, and indeed, despite the fact
that the preceding problem requires no sophisticated math skills, a large
number of the students got it wrong. (Try to solve it if you haven't done
so already. The answer is presented in Appendix A.)
Fears of failure and of looking stupid are not the only feelings that
can interfere with attention. All of us sometimes need to perform tasks
(study for a test or prepare for a presentation at the office) that we really
don't want to perform. When this happens, it is not uncommon to find
ourselves thinking, "I can't stand this" or "If only I didn't have to do this ."
As the psychologist Albert Ellis notes, such thoughts often involve whin-
ing. 15 In essence, we are acting like babies and whining about things "not
being fair." We can continue to do this if we choose, says Ellis. However,
- TheIdeal Problem Solver

it is usually much more efficient to simply accept the fact that life is not
always a bowl of cherries, stop whining, and get on with the task.

I The Purpose and Structure of This Book

It seems clear that simply telling people to avoid any negative thoughts
while trying to solve problems is unlikely to produce large gains in prob-
lem-solving success. People need to know what to do as well as what not to
do. Thanks to research that has been conducted during the past 20 years
or so, we now know a great deal about the processes used in successful
problem solving. 16 This information is often available only in piecemeal
fashion and only in relatively technical scientific books and journals;
furthermore, it is usually presented in a way that can be quite difficult to
understand. Our goal is to make the existing information about problem
solving both comprehensible and useful. We also furnish extensive refer-
ences to the scientific research that provides the basis for our discussion.
The book is divided into two parts. In Part 1 we present a model for
analyzing the processes that underlie effective problem solving, and we
discuss various ways that this model can be used to help people access
and apply knowledge and skills that they have already learned. For ex-
ample, one purpose of the model is to increase people's awareness of
various aspects of the problem-solving process so that they can analyze
their own approaches to problems. We especially emphasize the impor-
tance of viewing problems from a variety of perspectives so that creative
solutions are more likely to be discovered. The model presented in Chap-
ter 2 is used throughout the rest of the book.
Chapters 3 and 4 emphasize ways to enhance creativity and the
importance of being able to criticize ideas. Chapter 3 discusses how the
IDEAL model can be used to enhance your creativity. People's abilities to
formulate creative solutions to problems are often hampered by implicit
assumptions; hence, it is important to analyze these assu mptions and
consider alternatives. We discuss strategies for making implicit assump-
tions explicit and for generating a wide range of novel ideas.
In Chapter 4 we discuss strategies for spotting flaws in arguments
that others, or we ourselves, might make. These strategies are important
because-whether the domain is advertising, personal conversation, or
science-we are all bombarded by a host of supposedly factual and logical
arguments that, when analyzed carefully, are found to be full of holes.
Chapter 5 focuses on effective communication. A variety of strat-
egies can help us communicate our ideas more effectively. We emphasize
 The Importance of Problem Solving IIIII

that different strategies are necessary, depending on with whom we are

communicating, how we are communicating (orally or in writing, for
example), and what we are trying to accomplish.
Throughout the discussion in Part 1 it becomes obvious that the
improvement of problem-solving skills requires that people be able to
learn effectively. Just as we must learn to use physical tools (hammers or
computers) to solve certain kinds of problems, we must also learn to use
conceptual tools (strategies for remembering, concepts and theories that
facilitate the comprehension of patterns, and so on). In Part 2 we discuss
ways to learn new information. Chapter 6 discusses ways to improve
memory. We emphasize that different types of strategies are necessary for
different goals or purposes. For example, some strategies are sufficient for
short-term memory but not for long-term memory. Even for long-term
memory, strategies must be varied depending on the nature of the prob-
lem. Thus, the problem of devising strategies for remembering people's
names when you see them is different from the problem of studying for
an essay test.
Chapter 7 discusses the strategies needed to comprehend new infor-
mation. We emphasize that such strategies are different from those re-
quired to simply memorize information. We also show why the strategies
necessary for adequate comprehension are generally more difficult than
those needed for merely memorization. Nevertheless, the extra effort is
worthwhile because information that is comprehended can serve as a
conceptual tool for solving subsequent problems we may confront.
In Chapter 8 we discuss some reasons that formal educational en-
vironments do not always promote the acquisition of knowledge and
skills that can be transferred easily to problem solving. We then consider
some new approaches to instruction that are designed to help people
learn in ways that allow them to apply new information more readily to
problem-solving tasks.

I Notes
1. For more information on the Cuban missile crisis, see R. A. Divine,
The Cuban Missile Crisis. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1 971 .
2. L. Resnick, Education and Learning to Think. Washington, D.C .: Na-
tional Academy Press, 1987.
3. R. S. Nickerson, On improving thinking through instruction.
Review of Research in Education, 15 ( 1988):3-57.
4. U. Neisser, General, academic, and artificial intelligence. In L. Res-
. . . The Ideal Problem Solver

nick (ed.), The Nature of Intelligence. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, 1976.
5. R. K. Wagner and R. J. Sternberg, Tacit knowledge and intel-
ligence in the everyday world. In R. J. Sternberg and R. K. Wagner
(eds.), Practical Intelligence: Nature and Origins of Competence in the
Everyday World. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986.
6. H. Gardner, Frames of Mind. New York: Basic Books, 1983.
7. C. S. Dweck, Motivation. In A. Lesgold and R. Glaser (eds.), Foun-
dations for a Psychology of Education. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrebce
Erlbaum Associates, 1989.
8. D. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big. New York: Cornerstone
Library, 1981.
9. M . T. H. Chi, R. Glaser, and M. Farr, The Nature of Expertise.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1988. See also K. A.
Ericsson and J. Smith (eds.), Toward a General Theory of Expertise:
Prospects and Limits. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991.
10. J. J. Jenkins, Four points to remember: A tetrahedral model of
memory experiments. In L. S. Cermak and F. I. M . Craik (eds.),
Levels of Processing and Human Memory. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 1979.
11. B. McLennan, Prevent problems by considering the dog's view-
paint. Dogfancy (August 19 91): 68.
12 . R. C. Schank, Case-based teaching: For experiences in educational
software design. Interactive Learning Environments 1, no. 4 (1991):
231-253.
13. R. Wertime, Students' problems and "courage spans." In J. Lock-
head and J. Clements (eds.), Cognitive Process Instrudion. Philadel-
phia: The Franklin Institute Press, 1979 .
14. J. Holt, How Children Fail. New York: Dell, 1964.
15. A. Ellis, Rationa l-emotive therapy. In R. Corsini (ed.), Current
Psychotherapies. Itasca, Ill.: Peacock, 1973, pp. 167-206.
16. A classic on problem solving is A. Newell and H. Simon, Human
Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972.

I Suggested Readings
Practical!~ Oriented Readings
Tobias, S. 1978. Overcoming Math Anxiety. New York: W. W. Norton.
Williams, R. L., and J.D. Long. 1975 . Toward a Self-Managed Life Style. New
York: Houghton Mifflin.
 The Importance of Problem Solving . .

Theoreticallq Oriented Readings

Diener, C. I., and C. S. Dweck. 1978. An analysis of learned helplessness:
Continuous changes in performance, strategy and achievement cog-
nitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Soda! Psychology
36:451-462.
Mayer, R. E. 1992. Thinking, Problem Solving, Cognition (2d ed.). New York:
W. H. Freeman.
 A FRAMEWORK
FOR USING
KNOWLEDGE
MORE EFFECTIVELY
 A MODEL FOR IMPROVING
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS

In Chapter 1 we noted that people often have difficulty solving problems

even though they may have the knowledge necessary to do so. Our goal
in this chapter is to provide a model that can be used to improve thinking
and problem solving. The model is based on contemporary research and
pioneering work in the field of problem solving by such people as Max
Wertheimer, 1 George Polya, 2 and Alan Newell and Herbert Simon.3 We
have tried to integrate these ideas into a framework that is easy to under-
stand and apply to realistic problems. The components of the model are
represented by the acronym IDEAL. Each letter in IDEAL stands for an
aspect of thinking that is important for problem solving.

I The IDERL Rpproach to Problem Solving

The IDEAL approach to problem solving is based on many powerful
ideas, yet it is not ideal in the sense of being perfect or the best system
that could possibly be created. Nevertheless, it can be very helpful to
those who want to improve their problem-solving skills.
The IDEAL approach is designed to help you identify and under-
stand different parts or components of problem solving; each letter in the
word stands for an important component of the problem-solving process
Ell RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelij

I Identify problems and opportunities

D = Define goals
E Explore possible strategies
A = Anticipate outcomes and Act
L = Look back and Learn

Figure 3

(see Figure 3) . The IDEAL framework is most useful when it is applied

flexibly. For example, you may identify an important problem or oppor-
tunity, define your goals, explore strategies, anticipate possible outcomes,
and realize the need to redefine your goals before actually acting on
strategies. In short, you won't always want to go through the IDEAL
components in a fixed order. This will become clearer as you gain exper-
ience using IDEAL.

I= ldentifij Problems and Opportunities

The first component of the IDEAL approach is to identify potential
problems and treat them as opportunities to do something creative.
When problems are treated as opportunities, the result is often a solution
or invention that otherwise would have eluded you. In fact, it can be
beneficial to actively attempt to identify problems that have gone un-
noticed. Most books on problem solving begin with the assumption that
you have already experienced problems rather than stress the impor-
tance of actively attempting to locate them. As we shall see, however,
people who identify important problems and treat them as opportunities
are often among the most successful in their fields .
The importance of actively identifying problems that provide oppor-
tunities for improvement is nicely illustrated by Edwin Bliss. Bliss discus-
ses the experiences of Marks ·a nd Spencer, a prosperous retail chain in
Britain. 4 Members of that organization discovered a problem that had
gone undetected for many years: too much unnecessary paperwork. The
company had a procedure for filling out cards on merchandise sold to
keep track of inventory; nearly a million such cards were filled out each
year. Similarly, each employee was required to fill out a daily time card
indicating the number of hours worked; again, this amounted to approxi-
 AModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills IIJII

mately a million cards a year. After some thought, company repre-

sentatives realized that all this paperwork was unnecessary and that
more efficient procedures existed for inventory control. By treating the
discovery of this problem as an opportunity for creative action, the busi-
ness was made much more efficient. Within a year after the paperwork
problem was discovered, 26 million cards and sheets of paper ( 120 tons'
worth) had been eliminated.
Ladislao Biro and his brother Georg provide another illustration of
seeing problems as opportunities. 5 They were proofreaders and spent a
great deal of time checking for errors. To communicate these errors to
others, they needed to write things down, and it was important to write
in ink because pencil often fades. However, the only way to write in ink
was to use a fountain pen, which was messy and time-consuming. Al-
though you are probably not familiar with the names of these men, you
are undoubtedly familiar with their invention, the ballpoint pen. The
company they created is now part of a corporation known as BIC.
A common reason for people's failure to identify problems and view
them as opportunities is that they do not stop to think about the pos-
sibility of improving a situation. Instead, they tend to take inconvenien-
ces and unpleasant situations for granted and accept them as facts of life.
Our earlier discussion of traffic congestion caused by the lack of traffic
rules illustrates this. People in the 1850s presumably did not like traffic
congestion, but most did not take the time to ask whether it might not
represent an opportunity for creative thinking. Until this was done, no
one attempted to consider systematically how the problem might be
solved.
A friend of ours recently discovered an example from his everyday
life of taking something for granted rather than adopting a problem-solv-
ing approach: the task of frying bacon. For years he had never questioned
the fact that he often got splattered with grease. He simply accepted this
as a fact of life.
One day, while looking through a mail-order catalog, our friend
discovered the object illustrated in Figure 4. This device does an excellent
job of protecting cooks from hot, splattering bacon grease. What im-
pressed our friend most was not the invention itself, which represented a
relatively straightforward solution to the grease problem. Instead, he was
impressed that someone had identified the problem in the first place and
viewed it as an opportunity. Our friend had never thought explicitly
about the fact that splattering grease signified the existence of a problem
that, once identified, might be solved.
- HFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

~gure4 An invention for reducing grease splatters.

Mail-order catalogs provide fascinating testimony of the importance

of identifying problems and turning them into opportunities. The objects
illustrated in Figure 5 represent just a few of our favorite inventions. 6
Note that the first step taken by the inventors of these objects was to identify the
problems that the objects were designed to solve. Ideally, an inventor wants to
identify problems shared by a large number of people. This increases the
probability that the inventions will sell. (Ask yourself whether you have
faced the problems that the inventions in Figure 5 are designed to solve.)

I Failure to ldentif~ the Possibilit~ of Future Problems

The preceding discussion emphasized situations in which people tended
to accept unpleasant situations and as a result failed to ask whether they
pointed to the existence of a problem that might be solved. Other ex-
amples of the importance of identifying problems are situations in which
one fails to realize that actions or policies may lead to problems later on.
For example, during the 1980s the United States relaxed the regulation
of the banking industry, making it easier for banks to make speculative
loans. Few people realized the magnitude of the problem that would
ensue as real estate values declined. The U.S. taxpayers have already paid
about $100 billion to rescue failed banks, and some estimate the total cost
will be closer to $500 billion. On a more everyday level, people who
carefully balance their checkbooks after each transaction are less likely to
experience the trauma (and expense) of an overdrawn account.
Consider the following example of the importance of predicting
problems that may arise in the future. Imagine that your phone rings at
 AModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills . .

MEDICINE CLOCK. Set this little pill-box alarm to ring DON'T LOCK YOURSELF OUT
every 1/2, l, 2, 4, 8, or 12 hours, and it plays a little song OF HOUSE, CAR! Magnetic cases
to remind you to take your medicine . hide spare keys safely.

A QUICK TWIST opens the most

stubborn jars and bottles!

SOLAR-POWERED CAR VENTILATOR.

Reduces heat build-up without leaving
windows open.

Figure 5 Inventions designed to solve some common problems.

3 A.M. and a man asks, "Is this Home Pac Pizza?" What should you do? If
you simply say, "No, you have the wrong number," you will have failed
to anticipate the problem the caller will face as soon as he hangs up:
knowing whether the number itself was wrong or he had merely mis-
dialed.
Several years ago, after moving and receiving a new phone number,
one of us began to receive calls at all hours of the night. The callers all
asked about pizza deliveries, so there seemed to be some explanation for
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effective I~

the calls. As it turned out, the new number provided by the phone
company had previously been the number of an all-night pizza place.
When the calls first started coming in, we would say, "No, you have
the wrong number" and try to go back to sleep as quickly as possible.
Without fail, the phone would ring again 30 seconds later and the same
caller would be on the line. Since the number of the pizza place was in
the current phone book, the callers assumed they had misdialed the first
time around.
Once we identified the problem with the way we answered the
phone, we changed our strategy, saying, "The number has been
changed." The moral of the story is that it pays to look for potential
problems. If problems are not identified, solutions to them are unlikely to
be proposed.

D=Define Goals
The second aspect of the IDEAL approach to problem solving is to care-
fully define your goals in the problem situation. This is different from
identifying the problem. For example, a group of people could identify
the existence of a general problem and agree that it represents an oppor-
tunity but still disagree about what their goals should be. Different goals
often reflect differences in how people understand a problem.
Consider the problem of disposing of waste generated by individuals
and businesses. Although there is general agreement that we are running
out of space in our landfills, there are many different ways to define our
goals in this situation. One possible goal would be to find alternative ways
of disposing of trash other than landfills. Another would be to reduce the
amount of trash generated in the first place. Different goals can lead
people to explore very different strategies for solving a problem. If our goal
is to find alternative ways of disposing of trash, we might consider such
ideas as incineration or sending the trash to some remote location. On the
other hand, if our goal is to reduce the trash being generated, we might
consider recycling or encouraging companies to package goods in reusable
containers. Of course, you often may want to pursue multiple goals.
The difference between identifying problems that represent oppor-
tunities and defining one's goals can be clarified further by considering
the example of the frying bacon. A number of people might identify the
splattering grease as a problem representing an opportunity. Neverthe-
less, the way they define their goals could differ. One possible goal would
 HModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills IIlii

be to reduce the heat that causes grease to splatter. Here the emphasis is
on the importance of heat, and the solution to the problem would focus
on ways to reduce this factor. One solution is to turn down the heat on
the stove (assuming that one is cooking over a stove). If the heat source
is not variable (if one is cooking over a campfire, for example), the
solution could be to increase the distance between the frying pan and the
fire.
Another way to define your goal could be to make people less
susceptible to burns from bacon grease. This emphasizes people's vul-
nerability to burns, and the solutions would focus on ways to make them
less vulnerable. A long-sleeved, heat-resistant glove would be a good
solution given this definition of the problem.
A third goal would be to reduce the distance the hot grease travels.
This goal leads one to consider that hot grease splatters and can travel
relatively long distances; the solution would therefore focus on ways to
decrease the grease's journey. The invention illustrated in Figure 4 is one
solution that might be expected to stem from such a problem definition.
James Adams provides an excellent example of how our problem-
solving goals can affect the strategies we considerJ He describes the
experiences of a group of engineers who were attempting to design a
mechanical tomato picker that could harvest tomatoes in large quantities
without bruising them.
The engineers initially defined their goal as optimizing the design of
mechanical pickers so that tomatoes do not get bruised and damaged. As you can
imagine, this led them to consider various strategies for modifying the
machine, such as slowing it down to reduce the impact or padding its
arms. Although all of these solution strategies were plausible, none was
considered a breakthrough.
It wasn't until people considered alternative ways of defining the
goal-such as creating a tomato that is less likely to be bruised-that they
were able to explore a more productive solution like breeding tomatoes
that would be less likely to be damaged by mechanical pickers. By explor-
ing strategies to modify the tomato, the problem was eventually solved.
Growers and packers can now supply grocery stories with large quantities
of inexpensive, unbruised tomatoes.
We have found that people often fail to consider alternative goals
when they attempt to solve a problem. Instead, they jump immediately
to the exploration of strategies. For example, when one of us was work-
ing with a team of engineers who were exploring strategies to protect
people in automobile crashes, most of those involved immediately started
. . RFramework for Using Hnowledge More [ffectivelq

exploring such strategies as better shoulder harnesses and energy-ab-

sorbing barriers that could be placed between the driver and the steering
wheel. These strategies were all related to the goal of preventing people
from smashing into the steering wheel and dashboard. When people
realized there were alternative goals for solving this problem, such as
preventing crashes or reducing the damage caused to humans hitting the
dashboard, they began to search for information that was relevant to
strategies such as braking systems that are automatically activated when
a crash is imminent or soft, shock-absorbing steering wheels and dash-
board components.

I The Importance of Conceptual Inventions

People do not simply invent objects (such as a splatter screen to protect
against hot grease) that help them solve various problems. They also
invent or create concepts and ideas, and these frequently reflect the goals
people have in particular problem situations. The creation of units of
measurement, such as miles per gallon, passenger-miles per gallon, and miles
per tankful, are cases in point.
Imagine that you are a consultant for a company that wants to
purchase a fleet of vehicles to be used to transport executives to and from
work. Your task is to find the most fuel -efficient way to reach the
company's goal. One goal could be to find the type of vehicle that gets the
most miles per gallon. This particular goal may focus your attention on the
most fuel-efficient vehicle that can be used to transport an executive to
and from work.
Another way to define your goal might be to find a vehicle that can
transport the largest number of executives who live close to one another
to and from work. In this case, you might evaluate different types of
vehicles in terms of passenger-miles per gallon rather than merely miles per
gallon. Emphasizing passenger-miles might suggest that it would be more
economical to purchase vans or even a bus.
Several years ago, when gasoline was scarce because of a severe oil
shortage, many car makers focused on the concept of miles per tankful. For
people who had to travel long distances with no assurance of finding a
gas station, the unit of miles per tankful was more relevant than miles per
gallon. The goal in that situation was not to find a vehicle that would
permit people to go the most miles on the fewest gallons, but to find a
 RModel for Improving Problem-Solving Skills lllJII

vehicle that would allow people to go the greatest distance without

having to stop for gas.

E=Explore Possible Strategies

The third component of the IDEAL approach to problem solving is to
explore alternative approaches to solving a problem. This often involves
a reanalysis of your goals plus a consideration of options or strategies that
might be employed to achieve those goals.
In Chapter l we discussed some approaches to problems that people
often do not realize they are taking. These approaches include physical
escapes from problem situations (the let-me-out-of-here approach), as
well as mental escapes in which one avoids problems by thinking of
something else. However, even when people explicitly try to solve prob-
lems they often fail to use appropriate strategies. This is in part because
many people seem to be unaware of the importance of taking strategic
approaches to problems. In other cases people may be aware of the
general importance of strategies yet not have learned the specific strategies
needed for the problem they are trying to solve.
One way to think about strategies is in terms of their generality.
Some strategies for problem solving are very general and apply to almost
any problem you might consider. Others are very specific and apply only
in a small set of circumstances. We begin by discussing some relatively
general strategies and then consider the issue of specific strategies that are
appropriate to particular types of problems.

I The Importance of S~stematic Rnal~sis

Consider first the general process of analyzing problems systematically.
When we watch others solve problems we cannot observe what goes on
in their heads. It is therefore easy to assume that their answers just came
to them and that, if answers don't just come to us, there is nothing we
can do.
Of course, there are times when answers do seem simply to pop into
one's mind. If you are asked, "What's two times two?" for example, you
automatically say, "Four"; the answer is overlearned. However, consider
the following problem.
Ell RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

What day follows the day before yesterday if two days from now
will be Sunday?

Arthur Whimbey and Jack Lochhead have asked people who were
good at problems like these to think aloud as they solved them.8 In no
case did people simply read the problem and then have the answer pop
into their minds. Instead, these experienced problem solvers took a very
careful, systematic approach. In particular, they usually broke complex
problems into simpler ones that could each be solved more easily. Given
the problem just presented, for example, effective problem solvers might
ask themselves:

1. What is today if two days from now will be Sunday?

(Friday)
2. If today is Friday, what is the day before yesterday?
(Wednesday)
3. What day follows Wednesday? (Thursday)

The problem becomes quite simple when broken into its component
parts. Furthermore, human beings seem to need to break complex prob-
lems into component parts in order to succeed.
Proceeding systematically is also necessary for effective reading
comprehension. Arthur and Linda Whimbey provide information rele-
vant to this point. 9 They presented the following passage to college stu-
dents wh o had comprehension difficulties.

If a serious literary critic were to write a favorable, full-length review of

How Could I Tell Mother She Frightened My Boyfriends Away, Grace
Plumbuster 's new story, his startled readers would assume that he had
gone mad, or that Grace Plumbuster was his editor 's wife.

The Whimbeys note that the college students who were poor compre-
henders failed to take a systematic approach to the problem. They state:

This was the first sentence of a reading comprehension article, and I had
to stop for a moment and reread a portion of it in order to understand its
meaning completely. Not so for the low-aptitude student I was testing.
He was halfway down the page by the time I had the details of the first
sentence sorted out. I asked him if he understood the sentence, and he
answered "No, not really." So I suggested he give it another try.
 RModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills IIDI

The Whimbeys go on to note that good readers are much more systematic
in their efforts to comprehend information.
To the poor reader, however, the pattern ofgradual, sequential construc-
tion of exact meaning is totally foreign. One-shot thinking (Bereiter and
Englemann 's term) is the basis on which the poor reader makes inter-
pretations and draws conclusions.

I The Importance of Using External Representations

For many problems it is easy to consider all the relevant information
without experiencing a strain on short-term memory capacity. As the
problems we work on increase in complexity, however, it becomes more
and more difficult to keep track of all this information. Indeed, in some
situations the problem solver's goal may be to find a good way of keeping
track of it. Assume, for example, that you are confronted with the task of
operating a large corporation or even managing a small business inven-
tory. People responsible for such tasks often rely on computers, charts,
and graphs to help them represent all the information needed to make
purchasing and management decisions. Without these aids, they could
not cope with the deluge of information.
Of course, one does not have to operate a business to run into this
difficulty. Experienced problem solvers often keep track of information
by creating external representations. Rather than trying to keep all the
information in their heads, they move it into the outside world-they put
it on paper, for example, so they can think more freely about the problem
they are trying to solve.
As an illustration, try the following problem. 10

There are three separate, equal-sized boxes. Inside each box are two
separate, small boxes, and inside each of the small boxes are four even
smaller boxes. How many boxes are there altogether?

Many people quickly realize the need to represent the problem by draw-
ing, but many others do not. We know college students who attempted
to do this problem in their heads and had difficulty with it. This was
especially true of younger students with whom we have worked (fourth
and fifth graders). Performance improved considerably when the stu-
dents were prompted to draw a representation of the problem (although
there is still one aspect of the problem that is easy to overlook, even after
it is drawn out; the answer to this problem appears in Appendix A).
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelij

Here is another problem that requires an externalization of memory

(though that's not all it requires) .

A man had four chains, each three links long. He wanted to join the four
chains into a single, closed chain. Having a link opened cost 2 cents and
having a link closed cost 3 cents. The man had his chains joined into a
closed chain for I 5 cents. How did he do it?

By actually drawing the four chains, you don't have to use your memory to
keep imagining them (the answer to the problem appears in Appendix A).
There are many other ways of externalizing memory to keep track
of information. Additional examples, such as the use of graphs and Venn
diagrams, are discussed later. For the moment, the important point is that
problems can often be represented in a variety of ways, yet some repre-
sentations are more likely to lead to efficient solutions than others. For
example, if you are asked, "What is two-thirds of one-half?" you might
represent it on paper as ~3 x l/2. A simpler way to think of the problem is
"What is one-half of two-thirds?"
It is important to recognize that the most effective way to represent
information will depend on the nature of the problem and how we define
our goals. John Hayes 11 and Diane Halpern 12 note that some problems
are better solved if one uses a verbal representation, whereas others are
better represented visually or perhaps mathematically. In some situations
the most effective methods for representing information may differ from
those that we typically use. For example, Ruth Day 13 has found that
people often fail to use representations that would make it easier to
achieve their goals. Effective problem solvers explore a variety of repre-
sentations. We will explore alternative ways of representing information
later when we consider strategies that can facilitate learning.

I Some Additional General Strategies

In addition to working systematically, breaking a problem into parts, and
using external representations, good problem solvers rely on other
general strategies to help them achieve their goals. Working a problem
backward is one such strategy. In many situations a problem can be
worked backward more easily than it can be worked forward. For ex-
ample, imagine that you have to meet someone for lunch at a restaurant
across town and you do not want to be late. It is much easier to solve the
problem of determining when to leave by working backward: If you
 HModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills IIIII

wanted to arrive at noon and you determined that it would take 30

minutes to get to the restaurant, you could solve the problem easily by
working backward in time (12 A .M.- 30 minutes= 11 :30 A .M. departure) .
Generally speaking, working backward is a good strategy to use when-
ever the goal state of a problem is clear and the beginning state is unclear.
Consider the following problem (see Appendix A for the answer) .

It is 4 P.M. and you have just learned that you are expected for an impor-
tant company meeting in Chicago at 8 the next morning. There are two
flights open. One is a dinner flight that leaves at 6 P.M. and arrives in
Chicago at 6 A.M . the next day. The other flight departs at 7:30 P.M. and
arrives in Chicago at 7:30 A.M. the next day. When you arrive in Chicago
you will need to wait 20 minutes for your luggage and it will take 20
minutes by taxi to get to your meeting. Which flight should you take, and
will you need to buy dinner?

Another general strategy that good problem solvers often use is to

work out a complex or abstract problem by focusing on a simpler, specific
situation. 14 Building scale models or performing experiments that simu-
late certain characteristics of a real-world environment are good ex-
amples of this strategy. Consider the following problem (see Appendix A
for the answer).

You are the director for an upcoming racquetball tournament, and I 03

people have entered the open single-elimination tournament (after losing
once, the player is eliminated). If you need a score card for each match,
how many cards will you need if each player shows up? (Hint Work out
the problem for a very simple case first.)

I The Importance of Specialized Concepts and Strategies

So far, our discussion of the explore phase of IDEAL has emphasized such
strategies as breaking a problem into parts, working backward, and using
a specific case . These are general strategies that are important for problem
solving. However, studies of effective problem solvers reveal that they
have much more than a repertoire of general strategies; they also have a
great deal of specialized knowledge that allows them to understand
when, how, and why to apply a host of specific strategies. It is very
difficult to solve problems without knowledge of these specifics. 15
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Consider the following problem, which was presented to college

students by Bob Sherwood and his colleagues. 16

In the movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones successfully removed a
golden idol from a booby-trapped platform by substituting something
that weighed approximately the same-a bag of sand. Assuming the gold-
en idol was solid gold and that it and the bag of sand were approximately
the same size, is it reasonable to assume that the idol and the bag of sand
weighed approximately the same?

To solve this problem, you clearly need to do more than break the prob-
lem into parts. You also need some way to estimate the weight of a bag of
sand and a golden idol of approximately the same volume. Since the
objects are not available, you cannot weigh them directly. How else might
you proceed?
People who have learned and understood the concept of density are
able to generate a strategy for solving this problem. They know that
different types of materials have different densities and that density
tables can be found in some science texts . By consulting these tables, it is
easy to determine that the density of a solid-gold object is approximately
19.4 grams per cubic centimeter, whereas the density of sand is ap-
proximately 2 grams per cubic centimeter. This means that a golden idol
of the size depicted in the movie would weigh approximately 60 pounds.
In contrast, the bag of sand would weigh only about 6 pounds.
Note that the strategy of consulting a density table to solve the
Indiana Jones problem requires knowing about the concept of density.
Without it, it is very difficult to know how to proceed. There is often no
substitute for specialized knowledge when solving certain types of prob-
lems. For example, by learning concepts in algebra and geometry (con-
cepts that have been refined over the centuries), it becomes possible to
solve a variety of problems that otherwise would be extremely difficult if
not impossible to solve. Similarly, concepts in physics enable people to
solve such problems as how to put a satellite into orbit at a particular
distance from the earth, and concepts in biology help us to alleviate
various infectious diseases. All areas of study, including biology, psychol-
ogy, economics, physics, and chemistry, among many others, involve
core concepts and theories that people have found helpful in defining
and solving important problems. These concepts actually simplify the
process of problem solving.
For a simple illustration of the power of concepts, consider the
drawings in Figure 6. By prompting people to make use of concepts they
 HModel for Improving Problem-Solving Skills IIJII

12?<\:1
Figure 6 Some perceptual patterns.

have already learned, one can help them see these drawings in a new
way. The first can be viewed as a bear climbing up the opposite side of a
tree and the second as the Eiffel Tower viewed from the inside of an
armored car. Note how one understands the drawings differently when
they are viewed from these perspectives. The philosopher N. R. Hanson
argues that the creation of new scientific theories fulfills an analogous
function: It enables people to conceptualize events in new and previously
unappreciated ways. 17
That concepts provide tools that have powerful effects on problem
solving has important implications. The most important is that people who
want to develop effective problem-solving skills must become effective at learning
about relevant conceptual tools. Our discussion in Part 2 focuses on the
problem of developing more effective learning skills.

R=Anticipate Outcomes and net

So far we have emphasized the importance of identifying problems and
opportunities to be creative, defining goals, and exploring plans or strate-
gies for solutions. Once a strategy is selected, it is important to anticipate
possible outcomes and then act on that strategy. Anticipating possible
outcomes can save you from actions you may regret later on.
Several years ago the Coca Cola Company introduced a new cola
and stopped producing the old one . The result was not what the company
either expected or wanted. Millions of people wanted the old product,
and the company had to cope with a great deal of negative reaction and
publicity. Eventually the old product was reintroduced as Classic Coke.
Could the Coca Cola Company have avoided its costly error?
Hindsight is better than foresight, of course, but it seems possible that the
company could have anticipated the negative consequences of its strat-
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

egy. For example, it could have asked people how they would feel if the
drink they had been purchasing all their lives were no longer available.
An article in the Wall Street Journa/ 18 discusses the importance of
anticipating the consequences of one's strategies. Entitled "Building a
Better Mousetrap Doesn't Ensure Success," the article discusses the plight
of several companies that have attempted to deal with a problem faced by
thousands of stores across the country: the theft of shopping carts. Since
the carts cost around $90 each, a store can lose a considerable amount of
money in a year.
Different companies have come up with different solutions for the
shopping cart problem. Several of them involve locking up carts when
they are not in use. For example, customers may have to pay to unlock a
cart and get their money back when they return the cart to its original
location.
Imagine that you are a grocery store owner trying to decide whether
to invest in an antitheft shopping cart system. There are a number of
steps you might take to anticipate the effects of implementing such as
system. First you might estimate the number of carts that you lose per
year, calculate the cost, and decide that the locked-cart system would pay
for itself within a year. Then you might test the invention that locks up
the carts and find that it works very reliably. Finally, you might recall
having seen similar types of devices in airports and conclude that since
the invention worked there it should work for your store as well.
Ideally, there are additional steps that you would take before pur-
chasing a locked-cart system. One concern should be customer percep-
tion-you need to anticipate their reactions to locked carts. A negative
reaction could be caused by inconvenience. If the cart system requires
customers to have correct change, what will they do when they don't
have it? If the store is busy, many customers will not want to spend time
standing in line at a change machine.
Another, potentially more serious, reaction to a locked-cart system
is that many customers will react negatively if a store suddenly appears
not to trust them. The consequences could be severe. Note that people
are probably much less likely to feel the same way about locked-cart
systems in airports. Airports are visited by masses of people, and many
other types of security measures have already been put in place to protect
the public. Also, airports usually have a monopoly on air travel so that
customers cannot always seek other alternatives. Therefore, the fact that
a system works in an airport may not mean that it will work well some-
place else.
 HModel for Improving Problem-Solving Skills 11111

Agure 7 A book holder.

I The Importance of ncting on Strategies

to Evaluate Outcomes
In many situations we have to take a more active role in testing our
strategies before we can anticipate possible outcomes. For instance, build-
ing and testing prototypes can often help you anticipate the outcomes of
particular strategies. Imagine that you have built a prototype of a cook-
book holder like the one shown in Figure 7 and are trying to decide
whether to manufacture it in large quantities. It is designed to let people
read a cookbook while their hands are busy preparing food. Does it have
flaws? Can it be improved? By actively using it in various settings, you
may be able to discover features that would improve your prototype
considerably. It can also be useful to include in your thinking a worst-case
scenario-the worst thing that might happen given your strategy or in-
vention. This often leads to ideas for alternative strategies or designs . An
alternative design for a cookbook holder-a design that is quite useful in
certain settings-is illustrated in Appendix A.
For another example of anticipating outcomes, consider the familiar
task of attempting to do well on an upcoming exam. Assume that you
have defined your goal (for example, to learn the first three chapters in
the book) and have explored some possible study strategies. One might
be to read each chapter twice and make sure you understand everything
 nFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

you read. Will that strategy be sufficient to achieve your goal of doing
well on the test?
Most students know that they have to anticipate the consequences
of using a particular study strategy in light of the test requirements. If the
test will involve a presentation of one or two paragraphs from the text
with the requirement that students explain the meaning of the para-
graphs in their own words, the study strategy noted above (to read each
chapter twice) may be adequate. On the other hand, if the test requires
students to recall key concepts from the text and discuss them in order of
importance, that same study strategy will probably be insufficient. (See
Chapter 7 for more discussion of this issue.) Unless students anticipate
the effects of adopting particular study strategies by acting on them, they
cannot make adjustments that will ensure success. In our example, the
best way to anticipate probable effects is to actually perform various tasks
such as recalling key concepts from the book chapters. If you are not
successful, you will know ahead of time that you need to change your
approach.
The previous discussion shows that it is often necessary to act on
our strategies before we can anticipate possible outcomes. We have ex-
perienced case after case in which people (including ourselves) believe
that an initial idea makes great sense and then are unpleasantly surprised
by obvious flaws that become apparent after the idea is put into practice.
Ideally, many of these flaws can be discovered during the act and antici-
pate outcomes phase of problem solving rather than later on, when real
damage can be done.

L= ~ook and ~earn

The final component of the IDEAL framework is to look at the actual
effects of your strategy and learn from the experience. The suggestion to
look and learn from problem-solving experiences seems so obvious that
you may wonder why we bother to mention it. The reason is that, as
obvious as it seems, it often isn't done. We have been surprised many
times by the degree to which students fail to look and learn from their
attempts at problem solving. Consider tests, for example. These represent
problems that students attempt to solve by selecting appropriate study
strategies. Most students look at the effects of their attempts at problem
solving in terms of their grade on each test, but this provides only very
general information. To learn from their experience they need to ex-
amine their performance in more detail. For example, it can be beneficial
 AModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills . .

to examine the exact questions missed and to understand why one

missed them. Strategies for debugging-looking at and learning from
your approach to studying-are discussed in more detail in Chapter 7.
The cannonball problem presented below provides another illus-
tration of the importance of the look and learn phase of problem solving.
Do not try to solve the entire cannonball problem right away. Instead,
focus on the first step toward a solution that comes to mind. Here is the
problem.

There are 12 cannonballs. They all look alike, but one is the oddball. The
oddball is either heavier or lighter than the other balls. You are supplied
with a balance scale that can hold as many cannonballs as you like on
each side. The problem is, in four weighings (four uses of the scale), find
the oddball.

Try only the first step in this problem-that is, the first weighing-and then
consider what you have found out. We have given this problem to more than
300 college students. The first strategy considered by over 90 percent of
them is to place six cannonballs on each side of the scale to determine the
side that contains the oddball. Once students actively attempt this strat-
egy and look at the possible effects, they discover a dilemma: They still do
not know which side the oddball is on.
After the initial weighing, most students understand the problem in
a different way. They now understand that the difficulty of the problem
lies in the fact that the oddball can be either lighter or heavier; hence, the
six-six weighing does not tell them which side the oddball is on. Note that
without actively trying out their initial strategy and looking at the effects,
the definition of oddball would not be adequately understood. (You may
now want to continue to try to solve the oddball problem. The answer is
in Appendix A.)
In addition to looking at the effects of one's actions or decisions, it is
important to learn from the experience. Ideally, one learns something
general so that subsequent attempts at problem solving can be improved.
For example, imagine that you have created a new advertisement for a
product and had attempted to anticipate its effects by using a focus group
of businessmen and women. When the ad actually airs on television, you
discover a very negative reaction to it by various groups of people, espe-
cially those who are out of work and unable to find a job. As a result, you
will have learned something about how better to select people to par-
ticipate in any future focus groups that you decide to use.
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effecti ve!~

I The IDEH C~cle

The purpose of the preceding discussion was to illustrate five components

of the problem-solving process: iden tify, define, explore, anticipat e
and act , and look at the effects. Each of these components has impor-
tant effects on how well a problem can be solved.
In our discussion, different types of problems were used to illustrate
different components. For example, the splattering bacon grease problem
was used to illustrate the importance of identifying opportunities as well
as defining goals; the Classic Coke example was used to illustrate the
anticipate and look components. It is important to note that solving any
problem actually involves all five components of the IDEAL framework.
In addition, the solution usually involves a number of passes through the
IDEAL cycle.
Consider the problem of comprehending a passage. Assume that an
effective reader encounters the statement, "The haystack was important
because the cloth ripped." Unlike a less effective reader, who may simply
be going through the motions of reading while actually daydreaming, the
effective reader will realize that a problem exists (that is, he or she will
identify the existence of a problem). Furthermore, the effective reader will
view the identification of the problems as being good rather than bad. It
represents an opportunity to clarify what is not understood.
After the problem has been identzfied, the reader must carefully
define his or her goals. For example, the reader may assume that the
sentence is incomprehensible because of a lack of information. Perhaps
his or her attention had lapsed, causing crucial information in the text to
be missed. The goal might then be to find the information that would
render the statement comprehensible. This goal will lead to exploring such
strategies as going back and rereading the preceding text for information
that would help to illuminate the confusing statement. The student
reader therefore anticipate the effects of using this strategy and act on it by
actually rereading. He or she can then look and learn from these activities
by evaluating whether they helped to solve the problem of what the
sentence means.
Assume that the act of rereading does not solve the reader's com-
prehension problem. To the extent that he or she realizes this, a problem
has again been identified. The reader must then define new goals, explore
possible strategies, and so forth. In short, the reader has reentered the
 HModel for Improving Problem-Solving Skills 11111

IDEAL cycle and will remain there until the problem is solved or he or
she gives up.
Different ways of reentering the IDEAL cycle can result in strategies
that are more or less creative. The creative person will often redefine his
or her goals and try to use strategies that differ considerably from those
used previously. For example, the creative problem solver may reex-
perience the failure to comprehend the haystack sentence and redefine
the goal as attempting to use his or her own knowledge to make sense of the
sentence. This redefinition of goals suggests a new strategy. Rather than
rereading, the optimal strategy is to generate a context that allows the
sentence to make sense (if you find yourself trying to discover such a
context, the word "parachute" should help). Strategies for enhancing
creativity are discussed in more detail in Chapter 3.

I Blocks to Creative Problem Solving

As you gain experience working with the IDEAL framework, you will
notice that it often involves dealing with failure or frustration. If you
identify a problem with your own ideas or statements, for example, it can
be difficult to admit it. Similarly, as you define new goals (and hence reject
earlier ones) or act on strategies and find a need to explore alternative
plans, you may find yourself reacting negatively. This is natural; all of us
would rather be right about everything than wrong on occasion. Never-
theless, the IDEAL problem solver views these kinds of experiences as
opportunities rather than failures. The major opportunity they provide is
to learn something new. And the earlier in the IDEAL cycle you can find
the need to change direction, the better it is for you.
Scientists often must attempt to think about problems from new
perspectives. According to the popular portrayal, scientists are supposed
to be totally objective and seek only the truth. In actuality, scientists are
much more human than this suggests. Their humanity has both positive
and negative implications. On the positive side, scientists generally make
better parents, friends, and spouses than one would expect from a cold-
hearted individual. On the negative side, scientists may have difficulty
abandoning sets of assumptions that are near and dear to their hearts.
The physicist David Bohm discusses the emotional impact of receiv-
ing criticism that questions one's initial approach to the definition of a
problem. He describes a scientist's reaction to alternative assumptions
proposed by another scientist. 18
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

His first reaction is often of violent disturbance, as views that are very
dear are questioned or thrown to the ground. Nevertheless, if he will
"stay with it" rather than escape into anger and unjustified rejection of
contrary ideas, he will discover that this disturbance is very beneficial.
For now he becomes aware of the assumptive character of a great many
previously unquestioned features of his own thinking. This does not mean
that he will reject these assumptions in favor of those of other people.
Rather, what is needed is the conscious criticism of one's own meta-
physics, leading to changes where appropriate and ultimately, to the
continual creation of new and different kinds.

Of course, scientists are not the only people who have difficulty
redefining their goals because of emotional attachment to a set of as-
sumptions. Nearly all people experience such difficulties at one point or
another. When this happens, we fail to critically evaluate our assump-
tions. The IDEAL approach provides an important reminder of the value
of questioning assumptions and defining our goals in new ways.

I Summar~
Our goal in this chapter was to provide a model that can be used to
improve problem solving. The modeL represented by the acronym
IDEAL, emphasizes five components of the problem-solving process:
identify, define, explore, anticipate/act, and look/learn. Each of these com-
ponents is involved in any attempt to solve a problem; furthermore,
people often need to move through the IDEAL cycle flexibly and repeat
the cycle several times to arrive at a satisfactory solution. Creative prob-
lem solvers are especially likely to view a problem from a variety of
perspectives; that is, to define their goals in a number of different ways.
In the remaining chapters we will apply the IDEAL model to situa-
tions in which people must solve such problems as spotting flaws in
arguments and communicating effectively. In Part 2 we will examine
problems such as remembering sets of facts, comprehending new infor-
mation, and learning in ways that facilitate future problem-solving tasks.
Since the IDEAL model provides the organizing structure for the rest of
this book, it is important that you understand it and are able to use it in
a variety of ways. To help you reach this goaL we include at the end of
this and other chapters a number of exercises designed to provide prac-
tice in thinking within the IDEAL framework. The exercises are meant to
 HModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills . .

be fun as well as instructive. Some involve problem solving while others

involve quotations, statements of fact, and so forth. The exercises il-
lustrate how the IDEAL framework can be used to think about a variety
of situations. The best way to work with these exercises is first to read the
problem or statement, then to think about it for a while, and finally to
turn to the answers at the back of the book (Appendix B) to see how we
thought about the problem from the IDEAL perspective. Our thoughts
will not be the only correct ones, and they may be less interesting than
your own. Nevertheless, by seeing how we use the IDEAL approach to
think about experiences, you should learn to see the world from this
perspective and evaluate whether or not it may be useful for you.

I Exercises
Try to solve the two following problems as quickly as possible.

1. Quickly, now: How many members of each species did Adam

take with him on the ark? (Note that the question is how
many members of each species rather than how many
species.) Do not look up the answer until you have also tried
the problem below.
2. Spend approximately five seconds studying the phrases
presented below and then, without looking back at them,
write down what you saw. Please begin now.

PARIS
IN THE
THE SPRING
 RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effecti ve!~

Are the inventions shown below simply gimmicks, or do they address

real needs?

3. Talking scale that remembers your weight:

4. Sound-activated light switch:

GD
•
 HModel for Improving Problem-Solving Skills lltJI

5. Solar watch cap:

Three actual inventions are shown below. Try to define the problems they
were designed to solve.

6. Unusual shovel:
IIIII HFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

7.

8.

9. What kind of problem were these inventions designed to

solve?

10. Can you make sense of the following?

That that is is not that that is not is that it it is

11. One morning, exactly at sunrise, a Buddhist monk began to

climb a tall mountain. The narrow path, no more than a foot
or two wide, spiraled around the mountain to a glittering
temple at the summit. The monk ascended the path at vary-
ing rates of speed, stopping many times along the way to rest
and to eat the dried fruit he carried with him. He reached the
temple shortly before sunset. After several days of fasting and
meditation, he began his journey back along the same path,
 AModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills . .

starting at sunrise and again walking at variable speeds with

many pauses along the way. His average speed descending
was, of course, greater than his average climbing speed. Prove
that there is a spot along the path that the monk will occupy
on both trips at precisely the same time of day.
12. A social psychologist was interested in the custom of hand-
shaking. He noticed that some people are more inclined than
others to shake hands when they are introduced. One eve-
ning when he and his wife had joined four other couples at a
party, he took advantage of the occasion to collect data. He
asked each of the other nine people at the party how many
people they had shaken hands with during the introductions .
He received a different answer, from zero through eight, from
each of the nine people. You can assume that husbands and
wives don't shake hands with each other during introduc-
tions, and of course, people don't shake hands with them-
selves. Given this information, find out how often the
psychologist's wife shook hands. 20
13. There are two large jars. One jar is filled with a large number
of blue beads, and the other is filled with the same number of
red beads. Five beads from the red-bead jar are scooped out
and dumped into the blue-bead jar. Someone then puts a
hand in the blue-bead jar, scoops out five beads without
knowing what color they are, and dumps them into the red-
bead jar. Are there the same number of red beads in the red -
bead jar as there are blue beads in the blue-bead jar?
14. Imagine you have a piece of tissue paper, such as a Kleenex
tissue. If you fold the paper in half it doubles in thickness; if
you fold it in half again it is four layers thick. Imagine that it
is possible to fold the paper a total of 50 times, and assume
that the sheet of paper was originally 0.001 inch thick. How
thick would the folded paper be after 50 folds?
15. Suppose that each of the fish illustrated below eats two fish in
front of it each day. That is, fish 1 eats two like fish 2, each
fish 2 eats two like fish 3, each fish 3 eats two like fish 4, and
so forth. How many of fish 7 will be eaten to supply fish 1
with enough food for one day?
. . HFramework for Using Hnowledge More [ffectivelq

16. On the facing page is a design 2 1 for a robot (imaginary)

manufactured to wash outside windows in high-rise build-
ings . It has suction-cup feet (to help it climb), a bucket head
(to hold water), large sponges for hands (since the windows
are large), a padded stomach (so it won't scratch the build-
ing) , a battery (for power) , and a parachute (in case it falls) .
Do you think the design is adequate?
17. A man has 25 cigar butts and uses 5 butts to make a new
cigar (he rerolls the butts). How many cigars can he smoke
after he has made them?
18. A scientist who is experimenting with a new type of mush-
room notices that the number of mushrooms she has in her
greenhouse doubles every day. She started with 12 mush-
rooms on the first day. If the greenhouse will be completely
full on day 29, when will it be exactly half full of mushrooms?
19. On New Year's Eve, a small hospital in Cookeville, Tennessee,
reported ten separate births. Only nine women had entered
the hospital that year and there were no multiple births. How
could this be?
20. If a hen and a half lays an egg and a half in a day and a half,
how many hens will it take to lay six eggs in six days?
 AModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills . .

21. Imagine a game in which 15 coins are placed on a table. Each

of two players alternates taking coins from the table. On each
turn a player can take from 1 to 5 coins from the table. The
player who takes the last coin wins the game. Is there a
strategy that can be used to always win this game? 22
22. You are visiting a strange land where there are only truth-
tellers and liars . Liars always lie and truthtellers always tell
the truth. You ask the first person you meet whether he is a
truthteller or a liar. The person mumbles something that you
cannot understand, but someone nearby says, "He says he is a
truthteller. He is a truthteller and so am I." Can you trust the
directions that these two may give you?
23. A man pays $1 to get into a gambling casino. He loses half of
his remaining money there and has to pay $1 to leave. He
goes to a second casino and pays $1 to get in. He loses half of
his remaining money there and has to pay $1 to leave . He
goes to a third casino and pays $1 to get in. He loses half of
his remaining money there and pays another $1 to get out.
He is now broke. How much money did the man start with? 23
IEJI RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

I Notes
l. M. Wertheimer, Productive Thinking. New York: Harper & Row,
1959.
2. G. Polya, How to Solve It. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor,
1957.
3. A. Newell and H. A. Simon, Human Problem Solving. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1972.
4. E. C. Bliss, Getting Things Done. New York: Bantam Books, 1976.
5. This example is from E. de Bono (ed.), Eureka, An Illustrated History
of Inventions from the Wheel to the Computer; A London Sunday Times
Encyclopedia. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1974.
6. Additional examples of inventions can be found in de Bono (see
note 5).
7. J. L. Adams, Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas (3d ed.).
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley, 1986.
8. A. Whimbey and J. Lochhead, Problem Solving and Comprehension
(3d ed.) Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1985.
9. A. Whimbey, with L. S. Whimbey, Intelligence Can Be Taught. New
York: Dutton, 1975.
10. From Whimbey and Lockhead (see note 8).
11. J. R. Hayes, The Complete Problem Solver (2d ed.). Hillsdale, N.J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989.
12. D. Halpern, Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Think-
ing (2d ed.). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989.
13. R. S. Day, Alternative representations. In G. H. Bower (ed.), The
Psychology of Learning and Motivation, Vol. 22. New York: Academic
Press, 1988, pp. 261-305.
14. Additional examples of general problem-solving strategies can be
found in J. R. Hayes, The Complete Problem Solver (2d edition).
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1989; B. F. Ander-
son, The Complete Thinker. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall,
1980; G. Polya, How to Solve It. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday
Anchor, 1957; W. A. Wickelgren, How to Solve Problems. San Fran-
cisco: W. H. Freeman, 1974.
15. For an excellent discussion of general versus specific strategies and
skills, see A. Newell, One final word. In D. T. Tuma and F. Reif
(eds.), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and Research.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1980.
 RModel tor Improving Problem-Solving Skills . .

16. R. Sherwood, C. Kinzer, T. Hasselbring, and J.D. Bransford,

Macro-contexts for learning: Initial findings and issues. Journal of
Applied Cognition 1 (1987):93-108.
17. N. R. Hanson, A picture theory of theory meaning. In R. G. Colod-
ny (ed.), The Nature and Function of Scientific Theories. Pittsburgh:
University of Pittsburgh Press, 1970.
18. D. J. Jefferson, Building a better mousetrap doesn't ensure suc-
cess. The Wall Street Journal (Nov. 18, 1991 ).
19. D. Bohm, Further remarks on order. In C. H. Waddington (ed.),
Towards a Theoretical Biology, Vol. 2. Chicago: Aldine Press, 1969.
20. From J. R. Hayes, The Complete Problem Solver. Philadelphia:
Franklin Institute Press, 1981.
21. From G. Teague, Constraints on Effective Illustrations. Master's
thesis, Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville, Tenn., 1985.
22 . This is one version of a popular game called Nim. Nim originated
thousands of years ago in Asia where it was played with 12 stones.
This particular version of the game is described in M. F. Rubinstein
and K. Pfeiffer, Concepts in Problem Solving. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
Prentice-Hall, 1980.
23. H. Randall Todd, in Parade Magazine. July 1, 1990.

I Suggested Readings
Practical I~ Oriented Readings
Anderson, B. F. 1980. The Complete Thinker. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. : Pren-
tice-Hall.
Halpern, D. 1989. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical Think-
ing (2d ed.) . Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hayes, J. R. 1989. The Complete Problem Solver (2d ed.). Hillsdale, N.J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Polya, G. 1957. How to Solve It. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday Anchor.
Rubinstein, M. F., and K. Pfeiffer. 1980. Concepts in Problem Solving.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Sternberg, R. J. 1986. Intelligence Applied. San Diego, Calif.: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.
Wickelgren, W. A. 197 4. How to Solve Problems. San Francisco: W. H.
Freeman.
Ell HFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

Theoreticallq Oriented Readings

Bransford, J. D., B. S. Stein, R. Arbitman-Srnith, and N. J. Vye. 1985.
Three approaches to teaching thinking and learning. In J. Segal, S.
Chipman, and R. Glaser (eds.}, Thinking and Learning Skills: Relating
Instruction to Basic Research, Vol. l. Hillsdale, N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Humphrey, G. 1963. Thinking: An Introduction to Its Experimental Psychology.
New York: Wiley.
Lochhead, J., and J. Clement (eds.). 1979. Cognitive Process Instruction:
Research on Teaching Thinking Skills. Philadelphia: Franklin Institute
Press.
Mandler, J. M., and G. Mandler. 1964. Thinking: From Association to Gestalt.
New York: Wiley.
Mayer, R. E. 1991. Thinking, Problem Solving, Cognition (2d ed.). New York:
W. H. Freeman.
Sternberg, R. J. 1985. Beyond I.Q. : Toward a Triarchic Theory of Intelligence.
New York: Cambridge University Press.
Sternberg, R. J., and P. A. Frensch (eds.) . 1991. Complex Problem Solving:
Principles and Mechanisms. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Asso-
ciates.
Tuma, D. T., and F. Reif (eds.). 1980. Problem Solving and Education: Issues
in Teaching and Learning. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Asso-
ciates.
Voss, J. F., D. Perkins, and J. Segal. 1990. Information Reasoning and Educa-
tion. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Assoicates.
Wason, P. C., and P. N. Johnson-Laird. 1968. Thinking and Reasoning.
Baltimore: Penguin.
Wertheimer, M. 1959. Productive Thinking. New York: Harper & Row.
 CREATIVITY AND THE
IDEAL FRAMEWORK

The uncreative mind can spot wrong answers, but it takes a creative
mind to spot wrong questions.
Antony Jay 1

One of the most common excuses we hear for why people are unable to
solve problems is that they are just not creative. It is therefore important
to ask, "Where is creativity in the IDEAL framework?" It may seem
surprising, but processes for enhancing creativity are everywhere in the
IDEAL model; they are involved in identifying problems and opportun-
ities, defining goals, exploring possible strategies, and so forth. Our goal in
this chapter is to explore ways to enhance creativity in the context of the
IDEAL model.
Before we can explore ways to enhance creativity, it is important to
define what we mean by creativity. Some people assume that only people
in the performing or other arts are creative. In fact, creativity can be
found in any problem-solving domain. For example, scientists can take
creative approaches to constructing and testing theories, business leaders
IIBI RFramework for Using Hnornledge More Effectivelq

can be creative in identifying new ideas for products and services and in
running their companies, and students can take creative approaches to
their choice of topics for term papers and projects. Furthermore, not all
artistic activities are creative. For example, drawing, sculpture, painting,
dance, and music can be approached noncreatively as well as creatively.
The important point is that any task can be approached from a creative or
a less creative point of view.
David Perkins 2 reminds us that there are degrees of creativity; it is
not something that you either have or don't have. It is also important to
take a realistic view of creativity. Many people erroneously assume that
someone is creative only if he or she is like Einstein or Bach or Picasso.
But if you look for creativity only at that level of achievement you will
miss the hundreds of opportunities to be creative each day. Children are
naturally creative, and all adults continue to have this potential.
In this book we use the term creative to refer to the ability to solve
problems in ways that are novel for the individual. An idea that you
generate can be creative even if you were not the first person in history
to think of it. What counts is your ability to approach and solve problems
in ways that are not routine for you. A creative idea is also one that is
appropriate to the situation, rather than simply novel but off the wall. As
we discuss creativity within the IDEAL model, we will focus on ways to
generate ideas that are both novel and appropriate to your goals.

lldentifq Problems and Opportunities

The ability to identify problems and opportunities is one of the most
important steps in the creative process. As an illustration, consider crea-
tive journalists. One of their hallmarks is the ability to find important
issues to work on-they don't simply choose any random problem or
topic. Often they write about problems that others have missed or ig-
nored. Similarly, creative scientists often begin by finding important
problems with existing theories and methods that others have failed to
notice. This can lead to new, productive research that otherwise might
not have been pursued.
We saw in Chapter 2 that many successful inventions grow out of
the process of identifying everyday problems and turning them into op-
portunities for useful products or services. However, not all inventions
stem from problems that the inventor experienced personally or was the
first to identify. For example, the surgeon Henry Heimlich identified an
 Creativit~ and the IDERL Framework . .

important problem when he read a report that choking was the sixth
leading cause of accidental death. Although many other doctors had
probably noticed this problem, Heimlich recognized it as an opportunity
for a creative solution. He soon realized that two of the recommended
treatments for choking victims-removing the object with a finger and
slapping the victim on the back-would probably push the object deeper
into the victim's throat. Heimlich's experience as a chest surgeon helped
him realize that there would probably be enough air in the lungs to clear
the victim's airway if someone pushed on the diaphragm. His invention,
the Heimlich maneuver, is now recognized as the best lifesaving techni-
que for choking victims.
Sometimes creative ideas stem from identifying problems in other
people's solutions. For example, Cal Garland noticed that the styrofoam
nuggets used to package delicate objects sent through the mail are bad for
the environment. He realized that he could take advantage of material
available at his lumberyard to provide a solution to the packaging prob-
lem that was better for the environment. Garland patented a machine
that creates curls of paper-thin wood shavings that can provide packaging
protection and then be used as garden mulch. 3

The Importance of Encouraging Problem Identification

Unfortunately, our society often discourages people from identifying im-
portant problems that can lead to creative solutions. In some instances,
people who have attempted to identify existing or potential problems
have actually been fired from their jobs. A number of tragedies in our
society might have been averted if employees had been encouraged to
identify actual or potential problems. Examples include the Challenger
space shuttle accident and the increased incidence of cancer from asbes-
tos. In fact, the pressure to ignore problems in business and industry has
been strong enough to motivate the U.S. Congress to pass the Whistle-
blowers Protection Act. The goal of this legislation is to protect people
who believe that they have identified important problems. Ideally, people
will come to realize more fully that the identification of problems can
lead to opportunities for improvements.
One of us recently held a problem-solving workshop for a company
that wanted to improve its operations. The workshop was designed to
kick off a "quality month" during which everyone in the company would
try to find opportunities for improvement. The first week was spent
asking employees to identify problems in the company that, if solved,
IIDI RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelij

might improve working conditions and company operations. The most

important problems would be selected by a committee and then worked
on by cooperative teams for the remainder of the month. The problem
identification phase of the project was especially productive, and the
reactions of the employees were very interesting. Many mentioned that
normally the act of identifying potentially solvable problems would be
viewed as whining or complaining. Within the context of quality month,
however, problem identification was linked with the discovery of oppor-
tunities and so was seen as valuable.
One way of using the IDEAL framework that we have found benefi-
cial is to encourage people to identify problems in their own lives and
then attempt to solve them creatively. We ask them to begin with prob-
lems that can be solved relatively quickly. The problems that people
identify in these exercises tend to be quite interesting. Participants often
remark that the exercise prompted them to pay much more attention to
annoying or troublesome events rather than simply brush them aside as
facts of life. For example, college students with whom we have worked
have identified problems of dormitory life such as noise from a squeaky
bathroom door that kept them awake (oiling it did not help), a tendency
to turn off alarm clocks and go back to sleep, and a shortage of parking
spaces. The students had noticed these problems before the IDEAL exer-
cise, but they had not given much thought to the possibility of systemati-
cally attempting to solve them. By actively identifying problems and
treating them as opportunities for creative solutions, the students often
surprised themselves and discovered that they were able to solve prob-
lems in very interesting ways.

Problems with Tests of Creativit~

An emphasis on the identification of problems and opportunities as an
important step in the creative process helps clarify why it can be difficult
to create paper-and -pencil instruments to measure creativity. For in-
stance, one way people have tried to assess creativity is by measuring
"divergent thinking." A test of divergent thinking might ask people to
generate as many new uses for a brick as possible in a limited period of
time. Such a test will indeed show that some people think of lots of uses
(for example, bookends and doorstops) while others think of fewer uses.
But it is not the mere quantity of new uses that is important; it is better
to have a few really excellent answers than a host of mediocre ones.
From our perspective, there is something about the brick test that
 Creativit~ and the IOERL Framework E!l

misses important aspects of the creative process . It explicitly asks people

to generate new uses for a brick, rather than measuring their ability to
identify new problems and opportunities. People who can generate ideas
on a brick test are not necessarily going to notice opportunities for inven-
tions such as those pictured in Chapter 2. 4

I Define Alternative Goals

The act of defining and redefining one's goals is a particularly important
part of the creative process. Different goals suggest different lines of
thought and so have a powerful effect on the solution strategies that we
consider. We saw an example of this in Chapter 2 when we discussed
James Adams's bruised tomato problem. One way to define the goal in
this case was to design a mechanical tomato picker that was less likely to
bruise tomatoes. An alternative goal was to design a tomato less likely to
be bruised.

The Grocer~ Store Problem

The relationship between goals and creativity can be clarified by imagin-
ing a grocery store that is losing customers because they are annoyed at
how long it takes to check out. If you were hired as a consultant to this
company, what would you suggest?
We have given this problem to hundreds of people and find that
many approach it in a very similar manner. They tend to generate solu-
tions such as

• Train the cashiers to work faster.

• Purchase scanners and other technology to speed up the check-
out process.
• Open up some cash-only lines for customers who are buying
only a few items.
• Increase the number of checkout lines.

These are all potentially good solutions. Nevertheless, they address only
one of a number of possible general goals. That goal is to speed up the
process of getting customers through the checkout line. An alternative
goal is to find ways to keep people from getting annoyed at slow checkout
lines. This suggests a host of potential strategies, such as installing tele-
IBII RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective I~

viswns that customers can watch while they wait in line, giving the
customers free samples while they wait in line (the store can conduct
market research at the same time that it helps with the checkout prob-
lem), and having live entertainment to amuse the customers.
Still another goal is to keep the store from having too many cus-
tomers at any particular time of day. This suggests strategies that are
different from the others. One is to get more of the store's regular cus-
tomers to come at nonpeak hours. This might be accomplished by dou-
bling the value of coupons during certain hours of the day, having special
sales at certain hours, or holding special events such as services for the
elderly at particular hours or a singles night.
In our experience with the grocery store problem, it is rare for
people to step back and try to define alternative goals. Instead, most read
the problem and almost immediately begin generating strategies. One
way that we try to help them become more creative is by asking them to
explicitly define a minimum of two or three different goals for each
problem situation.

Additional Illustrations of the Importance of Defining Goals

We have used the strategy of defining at least two goals when working
with students to identify their own problems. For example, we noted
earlier that one problem identified by a college student was a squeaky
bathroom door across the hall from her dormitory room that kept her
awake. When she presented her problem to the class, she went beyond
our request for two different goals and presented the following three:

• To eliminate the squeak (for example, by oiling the hinge or

removing the bathroom door)
• To keep the sound from entering the dorm room (for example,
by filling the space at the bottom of the dormitory door)
• To keep the sound from being bothersome (for example, by
masking it with music or white noise)

As you can see, different goals suggested different types of possible

strategies. Indeed, all the students in this class generated strategies that
were much more interesting and creative than those we had seen in
previous classes. What was new about this class was our request that the
students generate at least two different goals to solve their problems. We
had not used this instruction in previous years, and the students had not
spontaneously generated multiple goals on their own.
 Creativit~ and the IDEAL Framework . .

The importance of carefully defining goals also apples to activities

such as choosing a topic for a paper. This point is nicely illustrated by a
student we shall call Judy who decided to write a paper on humor and
came to one of us for consultation. In talking with her it became clear
that her implicit goal was to describe what the "experts" on humor had
to say. Her focus was on what they say rather than on what she wanted
to know. Marlene Scardamalia and Carl Bereiter note that a common
approach to writing is to engage in knowledge telling-people simply
attempt to restate what they know or have read. They suggest that a
much better approach to writing is a "knowledge transforming" ap-
proach. Here the goal is not simply to tell what you know or have read
but to transform that knowledge in some useful way. 5
To help Judy move beyond knowledge telling, we tried to get her to
better define what she wanted to understand about humor. She was a
nursing major with considerable experience and we asked how the study
of humor might help people in the medical field. This eventually led Judy
to think of such ideas as laughter's being the best medicine. Her goal
eventually became much clearer: to determine whether humor is benefi-
cial to sick people and to understand why. This approach to the problem
of writing her paper enabled Judy to use her own knowledge about
illness and the hospital setting. Furthermore, she now had a criterion for
evaluating the adequacy of the theories proposed by the experts in terms
of her goal. Needless to say, her paper turned out to be much more
interesting (both to her and to us) than it would have been had she
simply gone through the motions of comparing theories A, B, and C.
Lee Bolman and Terrence Deal8 illustrate the value of considering
multiple goals when trying to develop creative ways to improve organiza-
tions such as businesses, schools, or government agencies. They suggest
that people thinking about ways to improve an organization should con-
sider four goals: to improve the organizational structure, to improve the
use and development of human resources, to improve political charac-
teristics, and to improve the organization's image. They argue that these
four subgoals can help people think of possibilities that they might other-
wise fail to consider.

Balancing Routine and Nonroutine Thinking

It is important to recognize that most of what we do in life involves
routine rather than nonroutine problem solving. Routine thinking is
valuable because it allows us to solve problems quickly and without
much effort. It would be very inefficient to approach every daily task by
Ell RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

making your goals explicit and then redefining them in order to be more
creative. Effective problem solving requires a delicate balance between
going with the routine (because it is efficient) and taking the extra time
to treat a situation as nonroutine and attempting to develop a more
creative approach.
Studies in cognitive science suggest that in many situations, routine
thinking and creative thinking may be complementary rather than an-
tithetical. The reason is that people have limited attention spans, and
real-world problems can easily overwhelm our processing capabilities. It
is difficult to be creative when one is overwhelmed.
Remember the experience of fir~t learning to drive a car? You had to
consciously attend to particular aspects of driving such as putting on the
turn signal, hitting the brake and clutch, looking in the rear-view mirror
before changing lanes, and so forth. These tasks demanded so much of
your attention that it was difficult to do something else simultaneously,
such as carry on a conversation with a passenger. But as these com-
ponents of driving became routine they demanded less and less attention,
until finally you could drive and carry on a conversation at the same
time. In general, routine tasks support creativity because they allow us to
shift our attention to new aspects of a situation.
As an additional example of how routine and nonroutine thinking
can be complementary, imagine that you are asked to coordinate a fund-
raising banquet and the organizer wants you to make it an especially
memorable occasion. This is a complex problem that can be broken down
into a number of subgoals that are routine for people who do this type of
thing often. These subgoals include finding a suitable location, arranging
decorations, notifying and inviting guests, arranging entertainment, se-
lecting a menu, preparing and serving food, and cleaning up. Attention to
each of these subgoals does not guarantee that your banquet will be
memorable, but if you overlook one of them the banquet will be a flop.
A task such as running a fund-raising banquet requires a combina-
tion of routine and nonroutine thinking. The more experience you have
organizing banquets the more likely you will be to think of all the impor-
tant subgoals. You can then decide where to focus your creative energies.
Perhaps you will need special invitations, an extravagant dessert, enter-
tainment, or an unusual theme and decorations. By first considering the
routine subgoals, you will get a better idea of the creative options avail-
able. Furthermore, each of the subgoals has a number of routine com-
ponents. All invitations have to meet certain prerequisites such as being
sent out on time and being clear about the place and time; similarly, all
meals require some sort of preparation and cleanup. You might proceed
 Creativitq and the IDERL Framework IIDI

to question some of these routine components in an effort to think crea-

tively, but you will certainly not change every one of them.

When to Search tor Nonroutine Solutions

One signal to search for a nonroutine solution is that our familiar
routines are not working as effectively or efficiently as we would like. A
classic experiment by Norman Maier7 illustrates the shortcomings of
thinking about things in a routine rather than a novel manner. He pre-
sented a group of people with a problem in which two cords were sus-
pended from a ceiling just far enough apart that you could not hold one
and reach the other (see Figure 8). He asked the participants to find a way
of tying the two cords together using anything they found in the room.
On a table were several objects, including a pair of pliers. Can you solve
the problem?
Even when given hints beforehand, many people failed to realize
that the pliers could be used as a weight to create a pendulum. One cord
set swinging with the pliers attached could be grasped while you held on
to the other cord (see Figure 9). People failed to use the pliers as a weight
because they saw only its most common function, a phenomenon known
as functional fixedness. Incidentally, can you think of another way to solve
this problem without removing the cords or tying an object to one of
them? If you thought of standing on the table beneath the two cords to

Rgure 8
Ell RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

ill\
Ill\
II I I
I I 1 I
I I I I
I I I I
I I I I
/ I I I
I I 1 I
I I I I
I I I I
I I I I
1 I 1 I

I J ~ ·~

Figure 9

reach them more easily, you have mastered another strategy that is often
overlooked because of functional fixedness. 8
Routine thinking can also prevent us from developing effective so-
lutions when we falsely assume that a new problem can be solved using
a routine approach. This phenomenon is often referred to as learning set.
Although learning sets can facilitate problem solving when dealing with
problems that require similar solution strategies, they can limit our ability
to explore other strategies. For example, many of our students have
falsely assumed that the study techniques they used in many previous
classes would work in a new course. It was only when they performed
poorly on a test that they recognized the need to break out of this implicit
set and treat the situation as nonroutine . We will address the impor-
tance of identifying assumptions that limit our creativity in more detail
when we discuss the importance of looking back at the effects of using a
strategy.

I Explore Possible Strategies

Even after you have identified problems and opportunities and defined
possible goals, there is still room to enhance your creativity. There are a
number of strategies that can be used to find more creative ways to reach
your goals. Many of these techniques are designed to help you access a
 Creativitij and the IOERL Framework IIIII
greater range of personal knowledge and experience that might be
relevant to the problem.

Fractionation
One strategy for enhancing the range of experiences we consider during
problem solving involves what Edward deBono calls fractionation. 9 The
goal of fractionation is to break a concept or idea into its component parts
so that new thoughts are more likely to come to mind. For example,
consider the problem of generating ideas for possible uses of bricks.
Rather than focusing only on bricks per se, it is helpful to fractionate
bricks into more basic properties and consider uses for each one. Thus, a
brick has a certain color and weight, is rectangular and porous, holds heat
but does not conduct electricity, and is rough and small enough to be
picked up in one hand.
Most people find that fractionating the concept of a brick into
component parts increases the number of potential uses they can
generate. Furthermore, when people try to generate uses but do not
employ the strategy of thinking about individual properties of bricks,
their responses usually reflect assumptions about those properties. For
example, a person who thinks of doorstops, paperweights, and bookends
as uses for bricks is probably, without necessarily realizing it, thinking
about the property of weight.
Here is another problem.

Consider ways to reduce the sound from highways.

Breaking this problem into its components can also help you generate
novel ideas. For example, you might first think of the factors involved in
the problem; that is, roads, cars and trucks, people (presumably the ones
bothered by noise), and some medium (such as air) that carries sound.
You could then think about the individual properties of each. For ex-
ample, people have ears that might be covered to reduce the perception
of noise, cars and trucks have tires that might affect the level of noise, and
so forth. Such thinking can facilitate our access to ideas that may lead to
creative solutions.

The Use of Rnalogies

Searching for analogies is another strategy for enhancing creative think-
ing. For example, John Hayes describes a meeting on the problem of
. . RFramework for Using Hnowledge More [ffectivelq

campus housing. 10 Someone said, "We have BYOB (bring your own
booze) parties; why not a BYOH (bring your own housing) university?"
Hayes notes that, although this suggestion was partly meant as a joke, it
was in fact quite beneficial, leading to a discussion of mobile housing
units. In the past, discussion had focused only on conventional housing
such as dorms, which are expensive to build and impossible to move
around.
Analogies have played a key role in discoveries in science and tech-
nology. For example, Benjamin Franklin noticed that a pointed object
would draw a much stronger spark than a blunt object in the vicinity of
an electrified body.l 1 At first he thought this was an unimportant obser-
vation. Until he recognized the analogy between clouds and electrified
bodies, he did not realize that pointed rods of iron could be used to
protect buildings and ships from damage by lightning. Similarly, Gut en-
berg's invention of the printing press was developed in part out of anal-
ogies he saw with the wine press and the punches used for making coins.
Another illustration of the key role analogies can play in great dis-
coveries is provided in the reflections of August Wilhelm Kekule written
25 years after he published his model for the structure of the benzene
molecule. 12

I turned my chair to the fire and dozed . . .. Again the atoms were gamboll-
ing before my eyes. This time the smaller groups kept modestly in the back-
ground. My mental eye, rendered more acute by repeated visions of this
kind, could now distinguish larger structures, of manifold conformation;
long rows, sometimes more closely fitted together; all twining and twisting
in snakelike motion. But look! What was that? One of the snakes had
seized hold of its own tail, and the form whirled mockingly before my eyes.

Using the analogy of a snake biting its own tail, Kekule developed a
model for the ringlike structure of the benzene molecule that profoundly
affected the science of organic chemistry.
In addition to facilitating the discovery of new ideas and the crea-
tion of new inventions, analogies provide alternative frameworks for
interpreting familiar facts. For example, in a recent period of stock-
market decline, one analyst criticized the gloomy predictions of most of
his colleagues and argued instead that the market would experience a
substantial gain. His reasoning was based on an analogy with a diving
board-the more downward pressure placed on a diving board, the
greater the tendency for it to push back upward. We question the ap-
 Creat i vit~ and the IDERL Framework . .

propriateness of this analogy, but the market did experience a bullish

period shortly thereafter. Even imperfect analogies may sometimes be
useful if they lead to creative solutions. The effect of analogic thinking on
creativity was perhaps best expressed by William Gordon when he said
that analogies make the strange familiar and the familiar strange. 13 Both
increase the probability that we will think about things in new rather
than routine ways.

Brainstorming
In 1957, Alexander Osborn described the concept of brainstorming. 14 His
goal was to use a group setting to increase the production of creative
ideas. One of the most important characteristics of a brainstorming ses-
sion is that participants adopt an attitude of complete friendliness and an
openness to suggestions. At first, wild ideas are encouraged-the wilder
the better. Further, members of the brainstorming group must agree to
withhold their evaluation of ideas until later in the session; criticism is
therefore ruled out. This rule is extremely important. Since novel ideas
often differ from conventional wisdom, premature evaluations can
prevent one from appreciating their value. Premature evaluations in
brainstorming sessions are often referred to as "idea killers" because they
hinder creative thought.
A variation on brainstorming is to ask group members to write
down their ideas on sheets of paper and then exchange them so that
others can make modifications and suggestions. This procedure, called
brainwriting, has sometimes been found to be even more effective than
brainstorming. 15

Writing as aDiscoverq Technique

Another strategy for discovering new ideas is to explore a topic in writing.
Since written language persists over time, written ideas can be subjected
to more intense scrutiny. Writing is often thought to be a way of express-
ing ideas rather than creating new insights. That people should think this
is probably a reflection of the way society and educational institutions
typically view writing and communication skills. Usually they are taught
independently of subjects such as physics, psychology, and mathematics .
However, many experienced writers, speakers, and researchers say that
the development of ideas occurs to a great degree during the process of
putting ideas into a communicable form .
m11 RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

Here is a simple example of discovery that took place during the

writing of this book. We knew that we wanted to have a section on the
use of analogies, and because we assumed that all uses of analogy were
similar, we thought that one section on analogies would be adequate. As
we began writing, however, it became clear that analogies can be used
in very different ways . For example, they are often used as a basis for
arguments (see Chapter 4) . Earlier in this chapter, we also argued that
analogies can be used to facilitate the generation of new ideas, and in a
later chapter we discuss how they can help in the communication of
ideas. In retrospect, these different uses of analogies seem obvious to us,
but they were not obvious before. Writing and other forms of commu-
nication (such as teaching) help us discover ideas and distinctions of
which we were not at first aware.

Incubation
In the preceding discussion we assumed that one continues to work on a
problem until it is solved. However, if you have ever worked on a difficult
problem for some length of time (on ideas for a speech or paper, for
example) you have probably found that, at some point, you had to stop
thinking about it for a while. This is not merely because of mental fatigue;
often one is able to think about other things. Instead, the reason for
stopping is that the same old answers keep coming up. People get locked
into a particular way of thinking and need to break out.
The term incubation refers to something that happens during the
period when one has stopped working on a problem. For example, some
people purposely think about a problem before going to bed so they can
sleep on it. They hope that ideas will incubate (hatch) during the night
and fresh insights will be available when they wake up. And indeed, this
sometimes seems to occur. Many scientists have written about having
flashes of insight after they stopped thinking about a problem and did
something else (took a trip, read a novel, or slept). 16 The following quo-
tation is from the French mathematician Henri Poincare. 17

One evening contrary to my custom, I drank black coffee and could not
sleep. Ideas rose in crowds; I felt them collide until pairs interlocked, so to
speak, making a stable combination. By the next morning, I had estab-
lished the existence of a class of Fuchsian functions, those which come from
the hypergeometric series; I had only to write out the results, which took
but a few hours.
 Creativit~ and the IDEAL Framework . .

In Poincare's case, a great deal of preparation preceded the insight;

he had spent a large amount of time working on his problem. The same
is true for other scientists who have reported the role of insight in their
work. The entire process has been broken down into four phases: ( l)
preparation, when you work hard on a problem and understand it; (2)
incubation, when you stop working on the problem; (3) illumination,
when a new insight occurs; and (4) elaboration, when the implications of
the insight are worked out.
An interesting question is "What happens during incubation?" One
answer is that the unconscious mind works on the problem. A weakness
of this view is that we don't know what the unconscious mind is or does.
Nevertheless, if you believe that the unconscious does its best work when
it is not interfered with by the conscious mind, then the best procedure is
probably to avoid thinking about the problem you want to solve, perhaps
by going to sleep.
Another view of the benefits of incubation is that, with time, we
cease making implicit assumptions that are preventing an adequate solu-
tion. Land, the inventor of the Polaroid Land Camera, once described
insight as "the sudden cessation of stupidity.'' 18 This is consistent with the
view that incubation helps us stop making inappropriate assumptions.
Like the unconscious process theory, this view of insight suggests that we
not think about the problem during the incubation phase. However, this
view also suggests that during the preparation phase of problem solving
we should try to make our assumptions as explicit as possible to increase
the likelihood that alternatives will emerge.
Still another view of incubation is that it enables us to process new
information that may provide a clue for a solution. When problem sol-
vers focus only on the problem to be solved, they may miss information
that could serve as clues. However, if they keep the problem in the back
of their minds while doing other things, they may increase the probability
of encountering useful clues.
Consider the following list of words and phrases:
Cowbell

Chopsticks

Trumpet

Roof

Tree
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelij

These probably don't suggest anything special; they probably don't pro-
duce an insight or the feeling of "aha!"
Now assume that you have been trying to comprehend the follow-
ing statement: "The food was uneaten because the wood was warped."
Assume also that after working on it for a while you stop and do other
things, one of which is to read the list of words above . This time, items on
the list (such as chopsticks) may provide a clue for problem solution.l 9 If
you had kept working on the problem you probably would not have read
the list. Furthermore, if the problem had not been in the back of your
mind, the insight afforded by the word chopsticks would not have oc-
curred to you.
Charles Darwin notes that while trying to develop a theory that
would account for the data he had collected on similarities and dis-
similarities among different species, he happened to read an essay by
Thomas Malthus on population. 20 According to Darwin, the essay helped
him formulate the theory of evolution despite the fact that it was about a
different topic. Had Darwin simply sat in his room pondering the data, he
might not have read Malthus's article . And if Darwin had not kept the
general problem of accounting for his data in the back of his mind,
Malthus's work would not have had the clue value it did.
This perspective on incubation suggests that we can take an active
role, rather than merely sleeping or not thinking about a problem. We
can talk with others, read books, look at magazines, view scenery, and so
forth. If we keep the problem in the back of our mind, we may find a host
of clues that can help us generate creative ideas.

Creativit~ Checklists
Another way to increase our ability to access knowledge and experiences
that might be relevant to a problem is by using special lists designed to
help people get around the constraints of routine thinking. Like frac-
tionation, creativity checklists are meant to expand the range of experi-
ences and strategies that we consider during problem solving. Alexander
Osborn 21 created one of the more famous creativity lists.
Creativity checklists can be useful in helping us get beyond routine
thinking. Although checklists such as Osborn's are limited to certain
types of problems, you can construct your own checklists to increase the
number of strategies to consider during problem solving. You can experi-
ence the effects of using a creativity checklist by thinking about ways to
 Creativit~ and the ID£RL Framework 11f11

modify a thumbtack and then performing the tasks in the checklist

below, which was designed by Gary Davis and William Roweton. 22

l. Add or subtract something

2. Change color
3. Change the materials
4. Change by rearranging the parts
5. Change shape
6. Change size
7. Change design or style

Creativity checklists are somewhat controversial because they often

depend on the use of prompts formulated by others. Also, repeated use of
the same checklist may promote a routine approach to problem solving that
eventually limits creativity. We recommend that creativity checklists be used
only after other strategies for enhancing creativity have been tried.

I Anticipate and Ret

The anticipate and act phase of the IDEAL model can help us uncover
inappropriate assumptions that may be limiting the creativity of our
thinking. For instance, we noted earlier that functional fixedness and
learning set can prevent people from solving a problem because they
assume that it requires routine thinking. In many situations we are un-
aware or unwilling to admit that we are making certain assumptions.
These assumptions may guide our behavior and thoughts without our
knowing it. For instance, a male business executive who is unaware of
his belief that women cannot be effective managers may be biased in
favor of hiring only male managers. One strategy that psychologists have
used to uncover such biases or assumptions is to get people to make
predictions or anticipate outcomes. Thus, we could ask the business ex-
ecutive to predict the success of two job applicants by looking at resumes
.that were identical in every way except gender. Predictions like these
could be used to uncover other assumptions that might bias jurors, pa-
tients, voters, and others.
Anticipating outcomes can also help us to uncover fundamental
assumptions in other areas. For example, to probe people's understand-
ing of certain fundamental laws of physics, the researcher Michael
 RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Figure 10 Inaccurate predictions.

McCloskey asked students to predict the path a ball will travel when it
rolls off the edge of a cliff. 23 The answers students gave illustrate some
common misconceptions or faulty assumptions about the laws of physics.
Two of these are shown in Figure l 0. In reality, the ball will move forward
as it descends, following a path that closely approximates a parabola.
Scientists often explore the adequacy of their theoretical assump-
tions by performing thought experiments that involve anticipating out-
comes. A good example of how such thought experiments can be used to
explore and evaluate assumptions was provided by Albert Einstein. 24
Einstein imagined a person riding on a streetcar that was headed away
from a large clock. He then tried to predict how the clock would appear
to the traveler if the car were to travel at the speed of light. He reasoned
that since the light reflecting off the clock would be traveling at the same
speed as the observer, the observer would always see the same image of
the clock and therefore time or the clock would appear L have stopped.
The results of this thought experiment helped Einstein to understand the
 Creativitq and the IDEAL Framework 11m

inadequacy of the assumption that time is an absolute and to formulate a

new, relativistic concept of time. To explore the use of predictions and
thought experiments further, try to imagine what the observer would see
if the streetcar were traveling faster than the speed of light (the answer
appears in Appendix A).

The Importance of Anticipating Positive as Well as Negative Outcomes

The opposite of failing to anticipate problems that may arise from new
ideas is thinking too narrowly and failing to anticipate the good that can
come from them. In the late 1930s and early 1940s, Chester Carlson
approached numerous companies with a new idea for copying docu-
ments that was based on the principles of photoconductivity and electro-
statics. All but one of the companies rejected his idea. One of the reasons
given was that office workers already had an effective method-carbon
paper-for making multiple copies of documents. Many thought there
would be little demand for an expensive machine that performed virtual-
ly the same function. Others found fault with the quality of the image
that Carlson's machine produced. 25
Those early criticisms of the invention assumed that the new rna-
chine's primary consequence would be to replace carbon paper and that
the quality of the image it produced could not be improved. In fact,
Carlson's invention had applications that went far beyond the purpose of
carbon paper. For example, his machine could be used to duplicate docu-
ments and graphic images that were prepared in other offices, making it
unnecessary to retype or redraw them. Unlike carbon paper, the copy
machine could also produce a large number of copies with the same
image quality.
The problems that Carlson experienced gaining acceptance for his
machine demonstrate how easy it is to find fault with any new idea or
invention. It is therefore important to look back at initial criticisms and
determine whether they are based on inappropriate assumptions. For
example, in Carlson's case the copy machine had many more applications
than the critics thought. Similarly, it is important to determine whether a
new idea or invention can be modified to overcome a fault. In the case of
the copy machine, the quality of the image was greatly improved in
subsequent development work. Carlson's invention (xerography) quickly
became a big success for the Haloid Corporation (now the Xerox Cor-
poration), and modern versions of the machine are a part of almost every
office environment.
IDJI HFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Using Focus Groups to Anticipate Outcomes

As discussed in Chapter 2, one approach to anticipating the effects of new
ideas is to convene focus groups that are asked to provide feedback on
possible new ideas or products. Members of these groups often point out
problems that are obvious in retrospect but were not recognized before-
hand. For example, we have worked with several groups that were plan-
ning large research projects on the uses of computer technology in the
classroom. The projects were budgeted for computers and modems so
that teachers and students could communicate by computer through
modems plugged into telephone lines. These plans seemed fine until we
talked to some teachers who revealed to us an obvious flaw in our think-
ing: Most classrooms do not have a telephone. To install phone lines in
each of the classrooms involved in the project would have been quite
expensive.
The question of who to talk with to help anticipate the effects of
various ideas is very important. In the previous example, our tendency
was to talk only with computer experts, since that was the technology we
were implementing. If we had not talked to the classroom teachers, we
would have failed to realize that the lack of phone lines in the classroom
was a problem. People often convene focus groups without thinking
much about whom to include. If you choose people with very different
kinds of experiences, there will be a much higher probability of getting
feedback that will save you from costly mistakes later on.
It can also be important to have focus groups work with actual
prototypes rather than simply to imagine a new idea. The more concrete
the prototype and the more realistic the setting for its use, the higher the
probability that potential problems will be found and fixed.

AChecklist That Can Facilitate the Anticipation of Consequences

Sidney Parnes and Harold Harding discuss checklists such as the one
below that can be helpful in anticipating the effects of new ideas and
products. 26 You might want to modify this list to suit your own problems.

l. Effects on your objective?

2. Individuals and/or groups affected?
3. Costs involved?
4. Tangibles involved (material, equipment, etc.)?
5. Moral or legal implications?
 Creativitq and the IDEAL Framework . .

6. Intangibles involved (opinions, attitudes, feelings, aesthetic

values, etc.)?
7. New problems caused?
8. Difficulties of implementation and follow-up?
9. Repercussions of failure
10. Timelines, etc.?

For any problem, these questions can be answered in terms of both

potential negative and positive outcomes. In fact, an effective approach to
anticipating outcomes is to imagine both worst-case scenarios and best-
case scenarios. As these are imagined (and sometimes acted out) in detail,
we find that a number of ideas are considered that otherwise would not
come to mind. Our suggestions are consistent with Edward deBono's PMI
(plus, minus, interesting) strategy. He suggests that creativity can be en-
hanced if we consider the "plus" aspects of an idea, the "minus" aspects,
and the points that seem "interesting." 27 Creative problem solvers often
get new insights during the anticipate phase of problem solving. These
insights can reveal new opportunities and problems that were previously
overlooked.

I ~ook and ~earn

Long-term efforts to enhance your creativity will not be successful unless
you actively look at the effects of your actions and attempt to learn from
them. Furthermore, you need to look at them from the perspective of
learning something general about enhancing creativity. For example, im-
agine that you have failed to anticipate some effect of a new idea and
discover it only after trying out the idea. You may have developed a novel
way to make a presentation to a group of people, for example, and found
that it fell flat because the audience expected something much more
conventional. What do you do?
A natural reaction is to feel awful and to put the situation out of
your mind and get on with other work. But failure can be an excellent
teacher. We have therefore learned to ask such questions as "What as-
sumptions were being made about the situation that were erroneous?"
and "How could we have gotten the right kind of feedback in advance by
using the right people for the situation?" As we explore these questions,
we develop ideas about improving our ability to be both novel and ap-
propriate.
- RFrameworh tor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Uncovering Implicit Assumptions

We noted earlier that people can uncover inappropriate assumptions by
anticipating outcomes. Another important part of looking back at our
problem-solving strategies is to examine implicit assumptions that might
interfere with creative problem solving. For an illustration of how certain
assumptions can interfere with creativity, try to solve the following puz-
zles as quickly as possible:

I. A superpsychic can predict the score of any game before it begins.

How is this possible?
2. Two men played five games of checkers. Each won three games.
Please explain.
3. Add one line to IX to make six.

Most people have a difficult time solving these verbal puzzles, especially
the first and third. The reason is that they are making assumptions that
block the solutions.
Consider the first problem. You probably assumed that the super-
psychic could predict the final score of any game. But the question really
asks about the score of any game before it begins. Once you make this
assumption about the score to be predicted the answer is easy: zero to
zero.
In the second problem, you probably assumed that the two men
played each other. Once you realize that this assumption is unnecessary,
the problem is easy to solve.
The third problem is difficult for people who assume that they must
restrict themselves to working with roman numerals and that a line is
necessarily straight line. The problem becomes much simpler when you
break out of these assumptions. You can add a curved line (an S) to IX to
make SIX.
The idea of examining routine assumptions that are taken for
granted is important in all areas of inquiry. As an illustration, consider the
Copernican revolution. Copernicus was a careful and creative scientist
who eventually solved a problem that others before him had failed to
solve: how to account for the irregular movements of the planets in the
heavens. Astronomers had collected data indicating where various plan-
ets were at particular points in time (for example, during different
months), but no one had been able to come up with a satisfying theory
that explained why planetary movement appeared to deviate from the
 Creativit~ and the IDEHL Framework . .

regular paths that were predicted. 28 After years of study, Copernicus

finally created a theory that nicely explained the apparently irregular
movements of the planets. To do so, however, he had to make a radical
assumption. Before Copernicus, everyone had taken for granted that the
sun and the other planets revolve around the Earth, and indeed, it looks
that way to the naked eye. Copernicus argued that this assumption made
it impossible to explain the movement of the planets. His theory began
with the alternative assumption that the Earth and the other planets
revolve around the sun. This assumption was considered absurd and so
radical that Copernicus was condemned by the Catholic Church.
Several lessons can be learned from the example of Copernicus. One
is that unnecessary assumptions (that the sun and the other planets
revolve around the Earth) can make it impossible to solve a problem. We
have discussed this point before, but it is so important that it bears repeat-
ing. Another is that it is easy to overlook basic assumptions that reduce
the creativity of our responses to problems.
People who work with business executives have noted an assump-
tion that keeps many of them from exploring new avenues for training
and employment. The assumption is that one is too old to try something
new. David Schwartz describes a 40-year-old man, Cecil, who wanted to
receive training for a better job but felt that he was too old. 29 A common
response to this type of problem is to suggest that "you are only as old as
you feel" or to say something like, "Ruth and Jim changed jobs at your
age and look at how well they are doing." The problem with such sugges-
tions is that people often feel old because they believe they are old. It is
also easy to see Ruth and Jim as special cases whose situations differ in
important ways from one's own.
Schwartz approached the problem in a way that directly challenged
Cecil's basic assumptions. He asked Cecil to say when a productive career
began ("About 20" was the answer) and then when such a career usually
ends ("Between 65 and 70"). Schwartz thus helped Cecil to realize that,
at 40, he hadn't even approached the halfway point of his career.

Searching tor Inconsistencies

Our discussion of Copernicus illustrates a general strategy that can
prompt an examination of basic assumptions-the strategy of searching
for inconsistencies. Copernicus wanted to create a theory that explained
irregularities in the movements of the planets, but his initial attempts
resulted in theories that were inconsistent with the actual data. His con-
. . HFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelu

tinued failure to formulate a successful theory eventually served as a

signal that some of his assumptions must be erroneous. Had Copernicus
not cared about formulating a precise theory consistent with all the data,
the need to question basic assumptions would probably never have oc-
curred to him.
The strategy of searching for inconsistencies is also used by efficient
technicians, doctors, and others when they are trying to evaluate their
diagnoses of a problem. For example, a particular problem (a dead bat-
tery) usually has an associated set of symptoms (the engine won't start or
turns over slowly, or the lights are dim). If the observed facts are not
consistent with these symptoms (the lights are very bright even though
the motor won't start), there is reason to doubt or reject the diagnosis of
a dead battery. People often fail to evaluate the adequacy of their as-
sumptions because they do not notice their inconsistency with observed
facts. For example, in the next paragraph the implicit assumption is
inconsistent with certain facts. See if you can identify those facts.

I left work at 4:30 P.M. on Friday and got caught in the usual rush-hour
traffic. When I arrived home I decided to take a shower before preparing
for my trip that weekend. After packing my clothes and putting food out
for the cat I decided to make a sandwich. To my horror the refrigerator
was not working. Since I would be gone all weekend it was important to
get it fixed before leaving early next morning. I immediately looked in the
phone book and called the only refrigerator repair service. Unfortunate-
ly, no one answered the phone. This was very aggravating since the adver-
tisement said it was open until 5 P.M. Monday through Friday and the
clock on my kitchen wall showed it to be 20 minutes before 5. In
desperation, I went out and bought a new refrigerator at the all-night
department store.

Did you notice any facts that appeared inconsistent with the
problem's being specific to the refrigerator? That the clock in the kitchen
read 4:40, which is only 10 minutes from the time the person left work
(and took a shower, packed, and fed the cat), could indicate that the
electrical power in the kitchen was not operating properly. To evaluate
further the assumption that the problem was localized in the refrigerator,
it would have been helpful to check other appliances in the kitchen and
the circuit-breaker panel. By searching for inconsistencies between what
we observe and what we assume to be true, we can discover assumptions
 Creativitq and the IDEA~ Framework -

that limit our ability to respond creatively to novel problems and reenter
the IDEAL cycle.

I The IDEAL Cqcle Rnd Creativitq

We noted in Chapter 2 that problem solvers usually do not simply start
with the I in IDEAL and proceed in a linear order until they get to the L.
Instead, they move very flexibly and frequently through the IDEAL cycle
a number of times. Different ways of reentering the IDEAL cycle are more
or less creative. A less creative approach may be to see that something
doesn't work (the look and learn part of the cycle) and then to try again
with only a small change in procedure. A more creative approach may be
to rethink one's assumptions and redefine the problem from a very dif-
ferent point of view.
Edward deBono 30 distinguishes between vertical thinking (proceed-
ing systematically from a single concept or definition) and lateral think-
ing (seeking alternative ways of defining or interpreting a problem). He
states:
Logic is the tool that is used to dig holes deeper and bigger, to make them
altogether better holes. But if the hole is in the wrong place, then no
amount of improvement is going to put it in the right place. No matter how
obvious this may seem to every digger, it is still easier to go on digging in
the same place than to start all over again in a new place. Vertical think-
ing is digging the same hole deeper; lateral thinking is trying again else-
where.
These comments suggest that an important aspect of creative problem
solving is to ask yourself whether you are making assumptions about the
nature of a problem that are limiting your ability to find solutions.
During an afternoon seminar on problem solving that one of us was
teaching, a bird flew through the open window and fluttered frantically
around the room. It was possible that the bird might be injured or people
could get hurt. The teacher announced that this was a real-world prob-
lem to be solved. (What else could he do, given that the seminar was on
problem solving?) Fortunately for the teacher, he was eventually able to
solve the problem.
In considering his thought processes, the teacher realized that he
was not successful until he had moved through the IDEAL cycle several
times and had reformulated some of his initial definitions of the problem.
. . RFramework for Using Hnowledge MoreEffectivelq

For example, he defined his goal first as "How can I catch the bird?" and
next as "How can I catch the bird without hurting either it or myself?"
Neither of these definitions led to a solution. Approximately two minutes
after the bird entered the room, the teacher redefined the goal as "How
can I get the bird to leave the room?" This led to a strategy that worked
on the first try (see Appendix A).

I Summarq
Creativity is the ability to generate ideas and that are both novel and
appropriate. Everyone is creative to some degree, and we can all improve
our ability in this area. From the perspective of the IDEAL framework,
efforts to enhance creativity involve each component of IDEAL.
A hallmark of creative individuals is their ability to identify impor-
tant problems and opportunities that others have missed or taken for
granted. Tests of divergent thinking do not tap this ability and hence miss
a very important aspect of creative behavior. By actively attempting to
identify important problems and opportunities, people can enhance their
creativity.
Creativity can also be enhanced by learning to define a minimum of
two different goals for any problem, rather than jumping right to the
generation of possible solution strategies, as most people do. Attention to
goals helps us uncover a host of unexamined assumptions that can block
our ability to think in nonroutine ways.
Once goals are defined, there are a variety of strategies for thinking
more creatively about them. Examples include the use of the PMI (plus,
minus, interesting) strategy, the fractionation strategy, analogies, creativ-
ity checklists, brainstorming, and incubation (sleeping on the problem).
It is important not to evaluate ideas prematurely, because evaluations can
act as idea killers that hamper nonroutine thought.
Since the goal of being creative is to generate ideas and behave in
ways that are both novel and appropriate, it is very important to an-
ticipate the effects of implementing novel strategies. There are many
strategies that enhance the probability of anticipating both negative and
positive outcomes that might otherwise be unforeseen.
The ability to be creative depends in part on our ability to make
aspects of complex problems routine so that our attention is not over-
whelmed. If you look at a situation and decide that your responses were
not as creative as you desired, it can be helpful to ask whether part of the
problem is that you were overwhelmed by the complexity of the task.
 Creativit~ and the IDER~ Framework . .

Our ability to learn from our experiences can be enhanced by think-

ing in terms of distributed intelligence and creativity. Theorists such as
Roy Pea note that a powerful strategy is to create relationships with other
aspects of our environment, including technology, and, most important,
with other people. 31 Attempts to learn from experience are enhanced
when we consider not only how to improve our own attitudes and skills
but also how to put together creative, collaborative teams.
Creative individuals usually reenter the IDEAL cycle from new
perspectives rather than from the same perspective. Part of being creative
is having the patience to continue to explore a problem rather than
giving up too soon and accepting solutions that are easy but routine.
Appendix C contains an IDEAL problem navigation guide that peo-
ple have found valuable in enhancing their ability to identify important
problems and to generate novel solutions to them. We recommend that
you try it on problems that are important and relevant to you.

I Exercises
Use the IDEAL Problem Navigation Guide (in Appendix C) to help you
work through a real-world problem and explore creative alternatives.
Follow the suggestions given in this chapter and remember to define at
least three different goals for solving your problem.

l. Generate some inventions (ones that you make up as well as

ones you already know about) that can help people ap-
preciate tropical fish while remaining in their homes (one in-
vention would be an aquarium) . Generate as many as you
can in three minutes.
2. Six normal drinking glasses are standing in a row. The first
three are full of water; the next three are empty. By handling
and moving only one glass, change the arrangement so that
no full glass is next to another full glass, and no empty glass is
next to another empty one.
3. When my cousin comes to visit me in my apartment, why
does he always get off the elevator five floors below my floor
and walk the rest of the way? Generate as many reasons as
you can.
4. How could you make a tennis ball go a short distance, come
to a dead stop, then reverse itself and go in the opposite direc-
. . RFramewor~ tor Using Hnowledge More Effective I~

tion? Note: Bouncing the ball is not permitted, nor may you
put a spin on the ball and roll it (this is really a form of bounc-
ing it) or tie anything to the ball.
5. Look at the nine dots below. Connect all of them using only
four straight lines, never retracing a line or removing your
pen or pencil from the paper as you draw.

• • •
• • •
• • •
6. Try solving this mystery. A county sheriff arrived at the scene
of an apparent homicide and found the victim lying on the
side of the road, dead. The only clue to the crime was a pair
of tire tracks left on the little-traveled dirt road. The sheriff
followed the tracks to a country farmhouse less than a mile
away. Although there were three men sitting on the front
porch, the sheriff was certain that the man he wanted for
questioning was sitting in the middle, even though he knew
that none of the men had a car and none had mud on his
boots. How did the sheriff know he should question the man
sitting in the middle?
7. Do you see any inconsistencies in the following passage? If so,
are there ways they might be resolved? The man was wor-
ried. His car came to a halt, and he was all alone. It was ex-
tremely dark and cold. The man took off his overcoat, rolled
down the window, and got out of the car as quickly as pos-
sible. Then he used all his strength to move as fast as he
could. He was relieved when he finally saw the lights of the
city, even though they were far away.
8. A farmer ate two eggs every morning for breakfast. He had no
chickens; nobody ever gave him any eggs; and he never
bought, borrowed, begged, or stole any eggs. Where did he
get the eggs? 32
9. A goat is tied to a rope. The rope is only 5 feet long, yet the
 Creativitq and the IDEAL Framework . .

goat can reach a pile of hay that is 10 feet away. How is this
possible?
10. In 1969 it was reported that a young woman gymnast in New
York City fell from a window sill on the 25th floor and was
not badly hurt. There was nothing special to cushion the fall
or reduce the impact. How was this possible?
11. Jim and Tom find a long piece of pipe in a vacant lot. It's big
enough that each boy can just manage to squeeze into it and
crawl from one end to the other. If Jim and Tom go into the
pipe from opposite ends, is it possible for each to crawl the en-
tire length of the pipe and come out the other end? 33
12 . How can a boy stand behind his mother and at the same time
have his mother stand behind him? No stepmothers or
grandmothers are involved.
13. A man walked through a pouring rain for 20 minutes without
getting a single hair on his head wet. He didn't wear a hat,
carry an umbrella, or hold anything over his head. His clothes
got soaked. How could this happen?b
14. Several years ago a new baby was born to Bill's family. This
new baby wasn't Bill's son or daughter, his brother or sister,
his nephew or niece. In fact, it was not his relative. How is
this possible? 34

I Notes
1. A. Jay, Management and Machiavelli; An Inquiry into the Politics of Cor-
porate Life. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston, 1967.
2. D. N. Perkins, The Mind's Best Work. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard
University Press, 1981 .
3. Styrofoam blitz. Time (July 6, 1992):20.
4. W. T. Brown, Creativity: What are we to measure? In J. A. Glover,
R. R. Ronning, and C. R. Reynolds (eds.), Handbook of Creativity.
New York: Plenum Press, 1989.
5. M. Scardamalia and C. Bereiter, Higher levels of agency for
children in knowledge building: A challenge for the design of new
knowledge media. Journal ofthe Learning Sciences 1 (1991):37-68 .
6. L. G. Bolman and T. E. Deal, Reframing Organizations: Artistry,
Choice, and Leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1991.
7. N. R. F. Maier, Reasoning in humans II: The solution of a problem
1EJ1 RFrameworkfor Using Hnowledge Hore Effective!~

and its appearance in consciousness. Journal of Comparative Psychol-

ogy 12 (1931):181-194.
8. Experiments demonstrating functional fixedness were conducted
by K. Dunker, On problem solving, Psychological Monographs 58, no.
5 (1945) .
9. E. de Bono, Lateral Thinking: Creativity Step by Step. New York: Har-
per & Row, 1970.
10. J. R. Hayes, Cognitive Psychology: Thinking and Creating. Homewood,
Ill.: Dorsey, 1978.
11. See A. Koestler, The Ad of Creation. New York: Macmillan, 1964.
12. See note 11.
13. W. J. Gordon, Synectics: The Development of Creative Capacity. New
York: Harper & Row, 1961.
14. A. F. Osborn, Applied Imagination. New York: Scribners, 1957.
15. See A. B. Van Gundy, Managing Group Creativity. New York:
American Management Association, 1984.
16. See note 2.
17. H. Poincare, Mathematical creation. In G. H. Halstead (trans.), The
Foundations of Science. New York: Science Press, 1913.
18. See G. I. Nierenberg, The Art of Creative Thinking. New York: Simon
& Schuster, 1982 .
19. This analysis of insight is from J.D. Bransford and K. E. Nitsch,
Coming to understand things we could not previously understand.
In J. F. Kavanagh and W. Strange (eds.) , Speech and Language in the
Laboratory, School and Clinic. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1978.
20. See note 2.
21. A. F. Osborn, Applied Imagination (3d rev. ed.). New York: Scrib-
ners, 1963.
22. G. A. Davis and W. E. Roweton, Using idea checklists with college
students: Ollercoming resistance. Journal of Psychology 70
( 1968) :221-226.
23. M. McCloskey, Intuitive physics. Scientific American 248
(1983):122-130.
24. Einstein's thought experiments. L. K. Barnett, The Universe and Dr.
Einstein. New York: New American Library, 1962. See also T.
Kuhn, A function for thought experiments. In P. N. Johnson-Laird
and P. C. Wason (eds.), Thinking: Readings in Cognitive Science.
Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press, 1977.
25. For more on Chester Carlson and his invention see J. E. Brittain,
"Chester Floyd Carlson," Dictionary of American Biography 28, no. 8
 Creativitq and the IDEAL Framework IIJII

( 1988):70-72; An idea looking for a company. Appliance Manufac-

turer (November 1988:33-38).
26 . S. J. Parnes and H. F. Harding (eds.), A Source Book for Creative
Thinking. New York: Scribners, 1962.
27 . E. de Bono, The CoRT thinking program. In J. Segal, S. Chipman,
and R. Glaser (eds.), Thinking and Learning Skills: Relating Instruction
to Basic Research, Vol. l. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum As-
sociates, 1985.
28 . S. Toulmin and J. Goodfield, The Fabric of the Heavens: The Develop-
ment of Astronomy and Dynamics. New York: Harper, 1961.
29. D. Schwartz, The Magic of Thinking Big. New York: Cornerstone
Library, 1981.
30. E. debono, New Think. New York: Basic Books, 1967.
31. R. Pea, Practices of distributed intelligence and designs for educa-
tion. To appear in G. Salomon (ed.), Distributed Cognitions. New
York: Cambridge University Press, in press.
32 . From D. A. Hindman, 1800 Riddles, Enigmas and Conundrums. New
York: Dover Publications, 1963.
33. FromM. Gardner, Perplexing Puzzles and Tantalizing Teasers. New
York: Simon & Shuster, 1969.
34. Personal communication, Grant Gong. June 1990.

I Suggested Readings
Practical!~ Oriented Readings
Adams, J. L. 1986. Conceptual Blockbusting: A Guide to Better Ideas (3d ed.).
Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley.
Anderson, B. F. 1980. Chap. 4, "Creative Thinking," in The Complete
Thinker. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Anderson, H. H. (ed.). 1959. Creativity and Its Cultivation. New York: Har-
per & Row.
de Bono, E. 1970. Lateral Thinking. New York: Harper & Row.
Gordon, W. J. 1961. Synectics: The Development of Creative Capacity. New
York: Harper & Row.
McKim, R. H. 1980. Experiences in Visual Thinking (2d. ed). Monterey,
Calif.: Brooks/Cole.
Osborn, A. F. 1963. Applied Imagination: Principles and Procedures of Creative
Problem Solving (3d rev. ed.). New York: Scribners.
. . HFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective I~

Theoreticallq Oriented Readings

Amabile, T. M. 1983. The Social Psychology of Creativity. New York:
Springer-Verlag.
Bradshaw, G. F., P. W. Langley, and H. Simon. 1983. Studying scientific
discovery by computer simulation. Science 222:971-975.
Barron, F. 1969. Creative Person and Ceative Process. New York: Holt,
Rinehart & Winston.
Brown, S. I., and M. I. Walter. 1985. The Art of Problem Posing. Hillsdale,
N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Glover, J. A., R. R. Ronning, and C. R. Reynolds (eds.). 1989. Handbook of
Creativity. New York: Plenum Press.
Koestler, A. 1964. The Act of Creation. New York: Macmillan.
Kuhn, T. S. 1962. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Perkins, D. N. 1988. Creativity and the quest for mechanism. In R. J.
Sternberg and E. E. Smith (eds.), The Psychology of Human Thought.
Cambridge and London: Cambridge University Press.
Stein, M. I. 1974. Stimulating Creativity. New York: Academic Press.
Sternberg, R. J. (ed.). 1988. The Nature of Creativity: Contemporary
Psychological Perspectives. Cambridge and London: Cambridge Univer-
sity Press.
Taylor, I. A., and J. W. Getzels (eds .). 1975. Perspectives in Creativity.
Chicago: Aldine.
Watzlawick, P., J. H. Weakland, and R. Fisch. 1974. Change: Principles of
Problem Formation and Problem Resolution. New York: W. W. Norton.
Weisberg, R. W. Creativity: Genius and Other Myths. 1986. New York: W. H.
Freeman.
 INTELLIGENT CRITICISM

The most important factor in the training ofgood mental habits consists
in acquiring the attitude of suspended conclusion, and in mastering the
various methods of searching for new materials to corroborate or to
refute the first suggestions that occur.
John Dewey 1

Our discussion in Chapter 3 examined various ways that the IDEAL

framework can help people develop more creative approaches to prob-
lem solving. We noted that some strategies for enhancing creativity, such
as brainstorming, require postponing the critical evaluation of ideas to
stimulate idea generation. At some point, however, effective problem
solvers must critically evaluate their ideas by anticipating outcomes and by
looking at the effects of a strategy once it has been acted upon.

I The Importance of Evaluating Arguments

In addition to evaluating our own ideas, it is equally if not more impor-
tant to develop the skills necessary to evaluate other people's ideas and
arguments. Whether we are scientists, business executives, doctors, law-
yers, or consumers, we must learn to evaluate the claims, arguments, and
beliefs that confront us daily.
Ell HFramework for Using Hnowledge More [ffectivelq

The Effects of Failing to Evaluate Ideologies

Throughout history people have harmed each other and committed
atrocities because of their belief in political, social, religious, or economic
ideas that seemed to justify such actions. It is often difficult for us to
imagine people accepting ideas that would justify killing millions of peo-
ple in the Holocaust or blowing up an airplane full of innocent civilians.
William Dember notes that it is fashionable to think that the perpetrators
of such atrocities were people whose "emotions overshadowed their
thinking." But Dember suggests that we consider the opposite conclu-
sion: that ideology came to rule their emotions. 2 In fact, numerous ex-
amples of atrocities committed in almost all societies are difficult to
attribute to emotion. For example, the U.S . government forced Native
Americans to give up much of the land their ancestors had occupied for
centuries. Many of the Native Americans who refused were killed by
soldiers. More recently, the U.S. government interned thousands of
American citizens of Japanese ancestry during World War II. These ac-
tions were justified on the basis of a political and economic ideology that
stressed the importance of protecting the country and allowing it to grow.
The powerful effects that ideology can have on people's actions and
their sense of right and wrong has been noted by many observers. For
example, Arthur Koestler states: 3
We are thus driven to the unfashionable conclusion that the trouble with
our species is not an excess of aggression, but an excess capacity for fanati-
cal devotion . Even a cursory glance at history should convince one that in-
dividual crimes committed for selfish motives play a quite insignificant
part in the human tragedy, compared to the numbers massacred in unsel-
fish loyalty to one 's tribe, nation, dynasty, church or political ideology.

IDER~ and the Evaluation of Rrguments

Throughout th is chapter we will examine how to use the IDEAL
framework to think about and evaluate arguments critically. When you
first hear an idea or argument you may begin to identify a problem with it
("something seems to be wrong here") . You may then define the goal of
your criticism more precisely. For example, your first goal may be to
determine the factual accuracy of the argument; this calls for an explora-
tion of various strategies for verifying the evidence presented. You may
then anticipate the outcome of certain strategies (such as reading a text-
book or searching through a computerized database) and act on those
that seem most promising. Finally, you can look at the effects. If they are
 Intelligent Criticism . .

Define goals of criticism

Factual
Assumptions Reasoning
evidence

Explore appropriate strategies

Figure 11

negative-that is, if you are unable to show that the argument is factually
inaccurate-you may reenter the IDEAL cycle and redefine your goals
(for example, to determine whether the argument's conclusions follow
logically or whether the argument is based on inappropriate assump-
tions).

I Three Wa~s of Critical!~ Evaluating Arguments

We will examine three general goals in evaluating arguments. These
goals involve the evaluation of facts, reasoning, and assumptions. By
"facts" we mean the data that people use as the basis for their arguments.
"Reasoning" refers to the steps people take in connecting facts or data to
their conclusions. "Assumptions" form the basis of an argument and may
or may not be reasonable (see Figure ll ).
The three goals for critically evaluating arguments can be illustrated
by Vincent Bugliosi's description of a famous murder trial that he
prosecuted in California. 4 Since there were no eyewitnesses, the prosecu-
tion was based solely on circumstantial evidence. Near the end of the
trial, the defense lawyer tried to convince the jury that the defendant was
. . HFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

innocent. He reminded the jury that the argument of the prosecuting

attorney was based on circumstantial evidence and argued that a trial of
this type is like a chain. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, and
the defense lawyer said that the jury needed a strong chain to convict the
defendant. He then proceeded to show not only one weak link in the
chain, but several.
Imagine that you are the prosecuting attorney in this trial. You
speak to the jury after the defense finishes its presentation. To convince
the jury that the defendant is guilty, you need to do more than com-
prehend what the defense lawyer has said to the jury. You also need to
criticize his argument and communicate your ideas clearly and persua-
sively.
There are several ways to evaluate arguments. One is to focus on
factual accuracy. For example, the defense attorney may have stated
(erroneously) that a jury may not reach a guilty verdict on the basis of
circumstantial evidence alone. Given this argument, you could challenge
the accuracy of the defense attorney's facts.
A second way is to determine whether the reasoning is logical and
consistent. A person may begin with accurate facts, but the conclusion
drawn may be invalid. For example if the defendant drinks beer and a
wine bottle was found near the victim, this does not prove that the
defendant is innocent.
A third way to evaluate an argument is to question its underlying
assumptions. The facts may be correct and the arguments sound only
given the truth of various assumptions. However, a creative person may
be able to come up with a set of assumptions that differ from those made
previously. In the California trial, for example, Bugliosi questioned a
basic assumption made by the defense attorney: He argued that trials
based on circumstantial evidence are analogous to a rope rather than a
chain. A rope is composed of a number of independent strands; several of
these can break without having much effect on the overall strength of the
rope. Bugliosi acknowledged that there were indeed a few questionable
strands, but he emphasized that the rest of the evidence was more than
strong enough to convict the defendant. (For what it's worth, Bugliosi
won the case.)

I The nnal~sis of Factual Claims

Suppose you win $10,000 in a contest and want to invest the money. An
investment counselor offers you a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity: He
 Intelligent Criticism . .

knows someone who is willing to part with an andent coin for a fraction
of its worth. You examine the coin and observe that it indeed looks
authentic. The counselor emphasizes that since the coin is very old (the
date stamped on it is 42 B.c.), it should be worth at least what you are
being asked to pay (which is $9100) . He also explains that the seller is
willing to part with the coin at this low price only because he needs the
money immediately and it usually takes about a month to sell an antique
coin at its fair value . Would you buy the coin? Why or why not?
If you dedded to buy the coin you also bought a faulty argument.
One of the facts used to support the claim that the coin is ancient cannot
be true. To stamp a coin 42 B.c., the coin maker would have had to know
in advance not only the exact year of the birth of Christ, but also that his
birth would be the basis for dating in the future. Since this is extremely
doubtful, the coin clearly is a fake.
A claim that a coin was minted in 42 B.c. is not necessarily false. It
is possible to find a coin this old. The problem with the argument is not
the claim itself but the evidence for the claim (that the date was printed on
the coin). Geologists and archaeologists make claims about the age of
various entities (fossils and skeletons), but they do so by providing
evidence that seems reasonable given current scientific knowledge (they
often use radioactive isotopes to date items). Effective critics pay careful
attention to the nature of the evidence on which claims are based. 5

Invited Inferences That Do Not Follow from the Data

You can learn a lot about the importance of paying attention to data by
studying advertisements. By law, advertisers cannot lie; for example, it
would be illegal to advertise that a coin stamped 42 B.C. is authentic.
Nevertheless, advertisements often prompt us to make "invited inferen-
ces" about messages that, from a logical or scientific perspective, do not
follow. Consider the following claim.

Scientific studies show that our brand (brand A) is unsurpassed by any

other brand on the market.

How do you interpret this statement? Many people assume that brand A
has been shown to be superior to other brands. This is only an invited
inference, however. Legally, "unsurpassed" means that the researchers
have found no differences in the effectiveness of brand A versus other
brands.
Here is another example of a possible claim.
. . AFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Time~

Rgure 12 A graph illustrating weight loss as a function of time.

Dogs prefer our brand of food by a ratio of 2 to I.

What is missing here is any explicit mention of what was used for com-
parison. The advertised brand could have been compared to uncooked
cabbage, for example. Such information is often omitted in the hope that
consumers will make the invited inference that a reasonable comparison
group was used.
Look at the graph in Figure 12, which appeared in an advertisement
for a new weight-reducing product. Many people who see this graph
conclude that, by using the product advertised, they could lose a lot of
weight in a short period of time. However, if you examine the graph
more carefully you will notice that the units of weight loss and time are
not specified. The conclusion that the product is highly effective is only
an invited inference. It is possible, for example, that in actual tests the
new product produced a reduction of only an ounce in six months. When
analyzing graphs and charts it is always important to check the units of
measurement to evaluate the claims being made.

Scientific "Facts"
It would be unfair to imply that the purpose of all advertisements is to
mislead. Many ads are designed to inform us about products that are
quite good. Furthermore, misleading arguments are by no means con-
fined to advertising. Arguments found in newspapers, textbooks, conver-
sations, and even scientific articles may be based on questionable facts.
 Intelligent Criticism . .

The following data show the number of deaths per million boat
passengers in 1973: 6

Canoe (motor) 0.14

Canoe (no motor) 1.66
Sailboat (auxiliary motor) 0.44
Sailboat (no motor) 0.52

When asked to draw conclusions on the basis of these data, many people
state that there are fewer deaths in boats with motors, and they go on to
explain why these are safer. For example, a motor provides an alternative
means of transportation in case of an accident like a broken arm or a torn
sail; also, a motor allows one to travel faster and hence avoid such
problems as storms and high winds. In general, people think the data
show that boats with motors are safer than boats without motors. This state-
ment, therefore, appears to be a fact.
If you think about it, however, you will recognize a problem with
this "factual" statement, which is that there are many differences be-
tween boats besides the presence or absence of motors. For example,
white-water canoes would never have a motor, whereas canoes used on
calm lakes (which are generally safer than fast-moving streams) would
be much more likely to have one. And only the larger sailboats (those less
likely to capsize) are likely to have motors. Finally, inexperienced sailors
are more likely to have smaller, less stable boats. Given these considera-
tions, it is questionable that motors alone account for differences in
safety. Indeed, in many situations (such as canoeing on a fast river or
sailing a small boat on a windy lake) it seems that the presence of a motor
could make a boat less safe.
Many types of claims are based on similar types of data. For ex-
ample:

At a meeting of educators, a committee chairman reported on a study

that had just been completed. Questionnaires had been sent to teachers;
two of the questions asked were: "How much do you like computers?"
and "How much experience have you had with computers?" The data
showed that the people who claimed to have had the most experience
with computers also liked them better. Based on these data, the chairman
drew the following conclusion: "We can see that the more people are ex-
posed to computers the more they will like them."
Ell HFrameworkfor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelij

Do the data support this factual claim?It is quite possible that exposure
to computers increases people's liking for them. Nevertheless, the data
presented by the committee chairman do not really support this claim.
The chairman is suggesting that experience with computers causes people
to like them. But the opposite is also possible; namely, that people who
like computers are apt to seek to learn more about them, and such people
therefore have more experience with them. It is the degree of liking that
causes the contact with computers.
The data do not allow us to conclude that liking causes contact with
computers, that contact causes liking, or that each affects the other. The
reason is that the data involve only correlations between two variables.
Evidence for a correlation between variables (liking and contact with
computers or motors on boats and safety) does not necessarily include
evidence that either variable causes the other. Indeed, both might be
caused by a third variable. For example, it is not difficult to find a positive
correlation between increases in teacher salaries and increases in alcohol
consumption. This doesn't necessarily mean that teachers use the addi-
tional money to buy liquor. Instead, the correlation is probably due to
some third variable that affects raises as well as consumption. A likely
candidate would be growth in the general economy which would allow
schools to pay teachers more and increase the disposable income of other
people as well.

Correlation Versus Cause and Effect

The preceding discussion illustrates a common mistake in reasoning: Cor-
relational data are often interpreted as indicating cause and effect. There are
times, however, when it is valid to conclude that one thing is caused or
affected by another. It is important to understand the nature of the
evidence necessary to make such a claim. For example, what kinds of
data would provide convincing evidence that as people's contacts with
computers increase, they like computers more? 7 The following para-
graphs illustrate one approach to this problem.
Imagine that 100 people are randomly assigned to two groups. This
means that everyone has an equally likely chance to be in either group;
names could be put in a hat and the first name drawn assigned to group
l, the second to group 2, the third to group l, and so on. If the assign-
ment to groups is truly random, we would expect that each group would
have had, on average, approximately equal experience with computers
(many in each group would probably have had none) and liking for
computers.
 Intelligent Criticism-

Assume that all receive a questionnaire asking about their exper-

ience with computers and their liking for computers. We can then ar-
range it so that members of the two groups have different experiences.
For example, the people in group 1 work with computers for an hour a
day for two weeks, and the people in group 2 (the control group) do no
work with computers. At the end of the experiment we give everyone
another questionnaire that asks them to rate their liking for computers.
If experience with computers increases the degree to which people like
them, we should find that those who received computer training will like
computers more than before and that these in the control group will not.
This would allow us to conclude that an increase in experience with
computers increases the degree to which people report liking them.
However, even this claim may be an overgeneralization. First, it im-
plies that experience with computers affects all people positively. Second, it
suggests that any type of experience with computers (learning to program in
BASIC as well as playing video games) is equally likely to increase liking. A
more finely tuned experiment could be conducted as follows.
The participants are assigned to groups on the basis of how much
they think they will like computers (a great deal, pretty much, or not at
all). Half the members of each group are then given computer ex-
perience, and the other half acts as the control (receiving no computer
experience). After two weeks, people are again asked to rate the degree
to which they like computers.
Given such an experiment, it is possible to assess whether ex-
perience with computers affects different groups in different ways. For
example, people who think they will like computers a great deal or pretty
much may like them more after computer training, whereas people who
think they will not like computers may actually like them less after
training. However, these results may hold for some types of experiences
with computers (such as learning to program in BASIC) but not for
others. In assessing a fattual claim such as that more experience with
computers increases people's liking for them, we therefore have to con-
sider the nature of the evidence carefully. For example, we need to know
something about the people being discussed, and we need information
about the nature of the computer training they received.

Additional Illustrations of Factual Claims

Here are some more examples of factual claims and of the evidence used
to support them. See if you can spot problems with these claims (answers
appear in Appendix A) .
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More E(fectivelq

College professors are asked to indicate the degree to which they agree
with various statements. One is "Students who turn in papers that are
typed tend to get higher grades than students who do not type their
papers." Most of the professors surveyed indicate that they agree with
this statement. On the basis of these data, a typewriter company recom-
mends that students learn to type so that they can get better grades. Do
the data support this conclusion? Why or why not?

Sid Slye wants to sell you a special gas-saving device for your car for only
$1 00. "How do I know it works?" you ask. "That's easy," says Sid. "I have
one on my car and it gets 45 miles per gallon. My other car doesn't have
one, and it gets only 25 miles per gallon." Is this enough information to
convince you that the device works?

The number of people who send in a $1 rebate form is found to be re-

lated to their average annual income in the following manner.

Income Number of people

Less than $20,000 10,000
$20,000-$40,000 7,000
Over $40,000 4,000

Can you conclude from these data that people who make more money
are less likely to worry about collecting rebates? Why or why not?

I Evaluating the Reasoning of Arguments

In the preceding discussion we emphasized situations in which the facts
used to support arguments were questionable. For example, the claim
that people should be encouraged to put motors on their canoes might be
based on the "fact" that canoes with motors have been shown to be safer
than canoes without motors. However, this claim is not supported by the
data presented. It is therefore important to analyze the nature of the
evidence used to support factual claims.
Another way to analyze arguments is to assume that we begin with
an accurate fact (a premise) and ask how we can use it to make a logical
point. That is, what must we do to ensure that our conclusions follow
logically from a set of premises or facts? 8
Here is a claim that seems to be supported by the study of history:
"Many scientific theories that later proved valid were first ridiculed." In
 Intelligent Criticism IIIII

medicine, for example, Pasteur's idea that diseases are transmitted by

germs too small to see with the naked eye was considered by many to be
totally unrealistic.
How might the fact that many valid scientific theories were at first
ridiculed be used in an argument? Imagine that you have a theory that is
criticized by several other scientists. A reporter suggests that you give up
in the face of such criticism. A possible response would be "Look, history
shows that many valid theories were at first ridiculed. Therefore, the fact
that some people ridicule my theory does not prove it is wrong."9
Another possible response would be "Look, history shows that many
valid theories were at first ridiculed. Therefore, the fact that my theory is
being ridiculed shows it is correct."
You probably feel much more comfortable with the first argument
than the second. Only in the first argument does the conclusion seem to
follow from the premise on which it is based. The two arguments il-
lustrate a type of reasoning known as categorical syllogistic reasoning.

Argument 1
Some theories that have been criticized have turned out to be
valid (major premise).
My theory is being criticized (minor premise).
Therefore, it could turn out to be valid (conclusion) .

Argument 2
Some theories that have been criticized have turned out to be
valid (major premise).
My theory is being criticized (minor premise).
Therefore, it is valid (conclusion).

Using Venn diagrams, Figure 13 represents the relationship among

theories that are initially criticized, theories that are accepted, and theo-
ries like yours. These diagrams are a powerful tool for analyzing argu-
ments in detail. The use of Venn diagrams makes it clear that the second
argument is not logically sound.
Imagine that the facts of history were somewhat different. For ex-
ample, suppose that all (rather than some) theories that later turned out
to be valid were criticized initially. Now could one conclude that criticism
of a theory proves that it is true? The answer is no; many invalid theories
- R Framework tor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Theories like mine

Rgure13 Note that "my theory" could fall into either of the two places in
the diagram marked by asterisks. If it falls into the space designated by the
asterisk on the left, the theory would not be currently accepted as true.

Theories like mine

(Shaded areas denote no members)

Rgure14 Note that "my theory" could fall into either of the two places in
the diagram marked by asterisks. If it falls into the space designated by the
asterisk on the left, the theory would not be currently accepted as true.

could also have been criticized initially. This is illustrated by the Venn
diagrams shown in Figure 14.
Consider one more hypothetical historical fact, that all new theories
initially criticized turned out to be valid. Given this premise, you would
be in a much stronger position to make the argument that the existence
of criticism proves your theory is valid (see Figure 15) . However, the
historical fact on which this argument is based is not true.
 Intelligent Criticism . .

Theories like mine

(Shaded areas denote no members)

Agure lS Note that "my theory" must be accepted because, in this instance,
all theories that were initially criticized are currently accepted as true .

If-Then Hrguments
Many arguments we make follow an "if-then" structure. You are un-
doubtedly familiar with a very simple if-then statement known as a
guarantee: "If you are not satisfied with our product, [then] we will
refund your money." Another example is insurance policies: "If you have
a car accident, we will pay for damages." The if-then statement is used to
describe a relationship between two events; it tells us what should hap-
pen (we will be able to get our money back) if certain events (we are not
satisfied with the product) occur. Each if-then argument includes what is
called an antecedent (if you are not satisfied with our product) and a
consequent (we will refund your money) . When we are given a clear if-
then statement and find the antecedent condition to be true (we are not
satisfied with the product), we can rightfully expect the consequent con-
dition also to be true (we will to get our money back). This type of
argument illustrates a type of reasoning known as conditional syllogistic
reasoning.
If-then statements occur in a variety of settings. For example, sup-
pose again that you are a lawyer in a trial. This time you are a defense
lawyer. You have established that the defendant has an ironclad alibi for
9 to 12 A.M. on the day of the murder. You might therefore want to argue,
"If the murder occurred between 9 and 12 A.M., my client is innocent."
The form of this argument is "If A, then B."
Assume that the time of the murder is established at 10 A.M . Your
argument would then be "If the murder occurred between 9 and 12 A.M.,
. . RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

my client is innocent (because of the airtight alibi). The murder did occur
during this time; therefore, my client is innocent." The general form of
this argument is "If A, then B; A, therefore B." This is a valid argument.
Suppose we try to reverse the argument. That is, if the client is truly
innocent, can we conclude that the murder therefore took place at the
time of his alibi; that is, between 9 and 12 A.M.? The answer is no; the
murder could have taken place at any number of times. The form of this
argument is "If A, then B; B, therefore A." Philosophers refer to this form
of argument as the fallacy of affirming the consequent (where A is the
antecedent and B is the consequent). This is an invalid form of argument.
It is instructive to note that many tests of scientific theories take the
form, "If A (this theory is correct), then B (the following results should be
obtained)." For example, a theory of the effects of imagery on memory
might predict that people who form images of information will remem-
ber more than people who do not form images (see Chapter 6 for a
discussion of imagery) . Assume that an experiment is conducted, and the
prediction holds. Can we conclude that the imagery theory is correct?
Note that the form of this argument would be "If A (the imagery theory
is correct), then B (the group told to form images should remember
more); B (the imagery group did remember more), therefore A (the
imagery theory is correct)." As noted above, this is an invalid form of
argument because it rests on the fallacy of affirming the consequent. For
this reason logicians caution that one cannot prove a theory correct.
Instead, one can only say, "These results are consistent with the theory"
or "These results provide support for the theory."
There are two more if-then argument forms; one is "If A, then B;
not A, therefore not B." Returning to the trial example, this translates as
"If the murder occurred between 9 and 12 A.M., my client is innocent.
The murder did not occur during this time; therefore, my client is not
innocent." This is not an argument you would want to make as a defense
lawyer. Fortunately, it also involves what philosophers call the fallacy of
denying the antecedent and is an invalid form of argument. In this case,
it is possible that the client was fishing alone at a remote cabin, but no
one else may have known it; hence, he could not prove that he was not
at the scene of the murder when the victim was killed. Nevertheless, the
absence of an alibi does not prove the presence of guilt.
The fourth form of if-then argument is "If the murder occurred
between 9 and 12 A.M., my client is innocent. My client is not innocent,
therefore the murder did not occur between 9 and 12 A. M. " Although as
a defense lawyer you might be reluctant to admit that your client is not
innocent, the form of this argument is valid. The form is "If A, then B; not
 Intelligent Criticism Eil

Mmnntl
ILLUSTRATIONS OFVALID AND INVALID ARGUMENT FORMS

Argument Valid or Not Valid

l. If A is true, then B is true. Valid

A is true.
Therefore, B is true.
2. If A is true, then B is true Not valid; fallacy of affirming
B is true. the consequent
Therefore, A is true .
3. If A is true, then B is true Not valid; fallacy of denying
A is not true . the antecedent
Therefore, B is not true.
4. If A is true, then B is true Valid
B is not true.
Therefore, A is not true.

B, therefore not A. " It is this form of argument that can be used to

disprove a hypothesis; that is, one can argue, "If this hypothesis is true,
then the following experimental result should be obtained. The result
was not obtained; therefore (assuming that the study was carried out
appropriately) the hypothesis cannot be true. " We will discuss the limita-
tions of this form of reasoning later.
Many people seem to be unfamiliar with the valid and invalid forms
of conditional reasoning when testing their own hypotheses. For ex-
ample, our discussion suggests that finding evidence that confirms a
hypothesis (If A, then B; B is true, therefore A could be true) is much less
decisive than finding evidence that is inconsistent with a hypothesis (If A,
then B; not B, therefore not A). Researchers such as Peter Wason 10 have
found that people have a tendency to evaluate a hypothesis by only
searching for information that would be consistent with it. Wason and
others refer to this predisposition as a "confirmation bias" and note that
it often leads people to have more confidence in their initial hypothesis
than they really should. A confirmation bias may cause people to ignore
simple tests that would disconfirm a faulty hypothesis.
The four basic forms of if-then arguments are presented in Table l.
Since many people have a difficult time remembering these abstract
Ell AFramework tor Using Hnowledge More [ffectivelij

rules, a simple example may help you generate the correct rules on your
own. Start with an antecedent such as "If it snows six feet tonight" and
add the consequent "then public schools will be closed tomorrow." As-
sume that this relationship will always be true. To determine if any
particular form of argument is valid (B is true; therefore A is true) simply
examine how those arguments would be represented in terms of the
familiar case. For example, to remember if situation 2 (in Table l) is valid,
consider the following: Schools are closed today (B is true); can we
therefore conclude that it snowed six feet the night before (A is true)?
Obviously this is not a valid conclusion, since school may be closed for
other reasons (such as a holiday, a fire, or summer vacation). If school is
not closed (B is not true), can we conclude that it did not snow six feet
the night before (A is not true)? This is a valid conclusion. Try generating
the other situations in Table l using this model and then try to solve a
different set of arguments without referring to the table. For example,
consider the premise "If it is a triangle, then it is red." Now try to answer
the following questions: If the shape is not a triangle, is it not red? If it is
not red, is it not a triangle? (See Appendix A for answers.)

The Consistencq of Arguments

Another important feature of valid arguments is that they are logically
consistent. The search for inconsistencies plays an important role in a
many areas. Consider again a court of law. A witness may provide infor-
mation inconsistent with his or her previous testimony or may describe
an event in a manner inconsistent with other people's testimony. The
effective trial lawyer searches for such inconsistencies and makes sure the
jury realizes they exist.
An advertisement that appeared in a Tennessee newspaper an-
nounced in bold type the following "A 45-piece tool set for only $10.00."
It went on to describe the pieces included: a hammer, a set of screw-
drivers, a set of Allen wrenches, a retractable metal tape measure. The
offer seemed too good to be true. Further, the advertisement described a
free case that could be used to organize the tools and store them neatly.
The advertisement stated that the case allowed you to fold the entire set
of 45 tools into just l inch of space.
The information about storing the tools in l inch of space was
totally inconsistent with our previous assumptions about the set of tools;
namely, that it included a full-sized hammer, a set of normal-sized screw-
drivers, and so forth. We reasoned that either the tools must be minus-
 Intelligent Criticism Ell
cule (like a jeweler's screwdrivers and hammer) or the information about
the 1 inch of storage space must have been a printing error. Our bet is
that the advertisement did not contain a printing error and that the tools
are indeed minuscule and worth considerably less than $10.00. Note that
people who failed to see the inconsistency between their assumption
about the tools and the information about storage space were probably
angry when they received the product. But the writers of the advertise-
ment would undoubtedly claim that it told people what to expect and
therefore doesn't qualify as outright fraud.
When scientists attempt to construct formal theories that explain
phenomena, one of the criteria of a successful theory is that ·it be inter-
nally consistent. In contrast, many of our everyday beliefs have not been
subjected to the rigors of scientific analysis and do not form a system that
is internally consistent.
Consider everyday beliefs that can be expressed in proverbs such as
"He who hesitates is lost." This is undoubtedly good advice, but so is
"Haste makes waste." Yet the two contradict each other. Additional ex-
amples of proverbs that seem contradictory are

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Better safe than sorry.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Out of sight, out of mind.

Many hands make light work.

Too many cooks spoil the broth.

If you attempted to create a formal theory of advice based on

proverbs, you would have to deal with this appearance of inconsistency.
One way might be to assume that each of the proverbs provides advice
that is appropriate in some contexts. You would then need to define the
contexts in which they did and did not apply. For example, the proverb
"Many hands make light work" seems to be appropriate when there is a
task to be done (such as beautifying a yard) that can be divided into
relatively independent components (raking dead leaves, mowing the
grass, trimming around the bushes and fence). In contrast, "Too many
cooks spoil the broth" is appropriate when several people are given re-
11m RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

sponsibility for the same task (such as baking a cake) and each ap-
proaches it in a different way.
It is instructive to define the contexts in which each of the other two
proverbs are and are not appropriate . As you do so, you will begin to
appreciate how looking for inconsistencies and then attempting to
resolve them can lead to new insights that previously were taken for
granted, such as the need to define the conditions of applicability of an
idea. Harold Kushner 11 provides a fascinating look at one person's at-
tempt to create a logically consistent set of beliefs to explain people's
relationship to God.
The search for inconsistencies is very important in science. For ex-
ample, in discussing the search for black holes in space, Nigel Calder
describes the work of scientists who studied a galaxy of stars orbiting the
galaxy's center. 12 The scientists knew that the speed of rotation of stars
around a center or core depends on the mass of the core. The speed of the
stars being studied was calculated and found to be extremely fast, ap-
proximately 250 miles per second. Based on this information it was pos-
sible to calculate the mass of the core necessary to sustain such
movement. The calculations revealed that the mass must be enormous,
roughly 5000 million times greater than the sun's.
Calder notes that the scientists also had access to an electronic light
detector that allowed them to measure the amount of light (brightness)
generated by the core being studied. He states, "If there was an enormous
number of stars at the core, corresponding to the mass, the heart of the
galaxy would be very bright indeed." (Note the if-then reasoning used.)
When the scientists measured the light they found only a relatively faint
glow, not a dazzling display; the appearance of the core was therefore not
what one would expect if it were composed of stars. Calder goes on to
observe that the information about the appearance of the core was inconsistent
with calculations of the mass of the core, unless the core contained a black hole.
The detection of a possible inconsistency was therefore very important; it
showed the need to postulate something-a black hole-that would
allow the apparent inconsistency between the appearance and the mass
of the core to be resolved.

I The nnal~sis of He~ Assumptions

Our previous discussion emphasized two general classes of strategies for
detecting flaws in arguments: ( l) evaluate the accuracy of factual claims
 Intelligent Criticism 11m11

and (2) look for logical flaws and inconsistencies. The third strategy is to
evaluate the assumptions on which an argument is based.
The evaluation of assumptions is especially important. For example,
the fact that most arguments are based on sets of assumptions can make
it difficult to apply some of the idealized rules of logic discussed earlier.
Consider the premise "If John invents a better mousetrap, he will become
rich." From our previous discussion we can conclude that it is not valid to
argue that John must have invented a better mousetrap because he is
now rich (that is, it is invalid to reason "If A, then B; B is true, therefore
A is true"). Similarly, we know that it is not valid to say that John will
never become rich because he did not invent a better mousetrap (it is
invalid to reason "If A, then B; not A, therefore not B"). However, im-
agine that at some time in the future we meet John and find that he has
never become very wealthy. Can we conclude that John never invented
a better mousetrap? Logically, the form of the argument is "If A, then B;
not B, therefore not A." As discussed earlier, this is a valid form of
argument.
However, the logical forms discussed earlier represent ideal situa-
tions. In reality, John may have invented a better mousetrap but never
have marketed it successfully, or people may have stopped buying
mousetraps. What appears to be a valid argument logically (If A, then B;
not B, therefore not A) has become an ambiguous situation in the real
world. One reason for this ambiguity is that the truth of the relationship
expressed in our premise ("If John invents a better mousetrap, then he
will become rich") depends on the existence of other conditions or assumptions
(that mousetraps continue to be purchased, that John employs a good
marketing strategy, or that John finds a financial backer). Generally,
whenever we include events and observations from the real world in our
relationships,, we import additional assumptions or conditions that may
not be obvious immediately. However, these assumptions may have an
important effect on the reasonableness of the arguments we make. 13

Assumptions and Inconsistencies

Basic assumptions must also be analyzed to detect inconsistencies. For
example, anyone familiar with political debates has probably witnessed at
least one in which the politicians present facts or statistics that seem to
contradict one another. How is it possible for such inconsistencies to
occur? Although politicians may occasionally make factual errors, more
often than not the collection of facts involves subjective judgments or
11m1 RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

assumptions. For example, two politicians may argue about changes in

workers' income during one of their administrations. The incumbent
may argue that workers' wages increased 30 percent during his admin-
istration. The challenger may argue that workers' salaries actually de-
clined by 5 percent during the same period. Neither of the statistics cited
by the politicians is necessarily wrong; they may simply be based on
different assumptions. Thus, the challenger may have taken into account
the rate of inflation during the survey period and adjusted wages accord-
ingly, while the incumbent did not.
Earlier, we discussed several cases in which an apparent inconsis-
tency was resolved by making a different assumption. For example, the
inconsistency between a set of 45 full-sized tools and a l-inch storage
case was resolved by assuming that the tools were miniature rather than
full-sized. Similarly, the scientists described by Calder found that the
appearance of the galaxy's core was inconsistent with calculations of its
mass unless they assumed the existence of a black hole. Much scientific
theorizing involves the creation of new concepts and theories that
resolve seeming inconsistencies.
Everyday comprehension also involves assumptions that resolve in-
consistencies. Here are some simple statements that appear to contain
inconsistencies unless you make the appropriate assumptions. 14

The floor was dirty because Sally used the mop.

John is able to come to the party tonight because his car broke down.

The dress wrinkled because Jill ironed it.

Examples of assumptions that make sense of these statements appear in

Appendix A.
Now consider the following problem.

A woman called the police and stated that she had just murdered her
husband by shooting him. The police went to the house and found that,
sure enough, the man had just been shot. Despite the woman's finger-
prints on the gun and her testimony (she also passed a lie detector test),
the courts were unable to punish her by putting her in jail or sentencing
her to death. Why?

At first glance, this problem seems to involve an inconsistency be-

tween what we know about murder and what we know about the law.
 Intelligent Criticism IIBI

Most people try to resolve this apparent inconsistency by making as-

sumptions, such as "She really didn't do it," "It was an accident," or "She
is insane so she cannot be prosecuted." However, in this problem the
woman did commit the crime, she is perfectly sane, and the reason she
was not sent to jail or put to death has nothing to do with legal tech-
nicalities (for example, the police failing to read her her rights) . See if you
can come up with an assumption that makes the apparent inconsistency
disappear (the answer appears in Appendix A).

The Reasonableness of Rssumptions

The fact that assumptions play such an important role in evaluating
facts, logical arguments, and apparent inconsistencies has an obvious
but important implication: We must carefully evaluate the reasonable-
ness of the assumptions that form the basis of arguments. At the begin-
ning of this chapter, for example, we discussed a murder trial in which
the defense attorney made an analogy between a trial based on cir-
cumstantial evidence and a chain. The remainder of his argument to the
jury was consistent with this analogy. The prosecuting attorney made an
alternative analogy, that a trial based on circumstantial evidence is more
like a rope than a chain. This allowed him to counter a number of points
the defense attorney had made; for example, he argued that a few weak
points in the overall testimony were not enough to prove the defen-
dant's innocence.
Many arguments are based on analogies that, if analyzed, are found
to be based on questionable assumptions. Otherwise, such arguments
might seem to make sense, and we would make assumptions and draw
conclusions that should probably not be drawn.
Consider again the scientist who is asked why he doesn't give up his
theory in the face of criticism. The scientist may respond, "Your question
reminds me of a story about Louis Pasteur. He was ridiculed unmercifully
when he first suggested his germ theory of disease. As we all know,
however, he got the last laugh."
What kind of argument is the scientist making by his reference to
Pasteur? The argument might simply be "Because a new theory is ridi-
culed it is not necessarily invalid." On the other hand, the scientist may
purposely be using an ambiguous argument to encourage an invited
inference, such as "This situation is just like Pasteur's; therefore, the
theory must be true." The scientist's reference to Pasteur illustrates a
form of reasoning by analogy that is quite common in everyday situa-
tions. To evaluate such arguments, it is important to ask whether a par-
11m HFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

ticular analogy is appropriate, and if so, what its exact implications are
supposed to be .
Consider a controversial topic, such as whether couples should have
sex before marriage. One response to this question is to say, "You
wouldn't buy a car without taking it out for a test drive, would you?"
Although some might agree with this argument, others may be offended
by the inappropriateness of the analogy. For example, unlike a car, a
spouse does not become one's property, and unlike problems with a car,
those between couples are usually a two-way street. Furthermore, al-
though people usually don't feel guilty after taking a test drive, many feel
guilty after premarital sex.
You can undoubtedly find additional problems with the test-drive
analogy, but the basic point is clear: The analogy carries with it a host of
assumptions that are inappropriate and misleading. Assumptions have
powerful effects on our reasoning and it is therefore important to analyze
those we make as well as those we are invited to make by others.
At the beginning of this chapter, we noted that many ideologies are
closed systems that are difficult to crack because they are based on as-
sumptions considered to be immutable. For example, imagine a person
whose beliefs are based on the assumption that you are the enemy and
that one's enemy can never be trusted. Unless you can show that those
assumptions are faulty, it is doubtful that any logical argument you make
will be convincing. Thus, in addition to critically evaluating ideas, we also
need to be able to communicate our arguments effectively. In Chapter 5
we will examine how the IDEAL framework can be applied to problems
of communication.

I Summar~
Ideologies can play a powerful role in motivating human action.
Throughout history, a great deal of suffering has resulted from the un-
critical acceptance of ideologies that have motivated people to harm one
another. It is therefore important for people not to necessarily accept
everything they hear or read. They need to be intelligent critics who can
identify possible flaws in their own arguments as well as in arguments
made by others. Subsequently, they can define the goal of their critical
analysis (for example, to evaluate the accuracy of factual claims), explore
strategies for analyzing and correcting an argument, anticipate outcomes
and act on the most promising strategies, and look at the effects. If the
 Intelligent Criticism liB

argument still seems faulty, they can reenter the IDEAL cycle and try
again.
There are three general goals to adopt when evaluating an argu-
ment. One is the possibility that the argument is based on inaccurate
factual claims. Note that people who make such claims are not necessari-
ly trying to be misleading or dishonest. Instead, they may simply fail to
realize that their interpretations are in error.
A second cause of faulty arguments is the use of inappropriate logic
or reasoning strategies. Someone may begin with an acceptable factual
claim ("Many theories that later turned out to be true were at first
ridiculed") but end up with a conclusion that does not follow from the
facts ("Therefore, since my theory is being criticized, it must be true").
Similarly, arguments can contain inconsistencies. For example, an author
may at first state that the views of a historical figure never changed on a
particular issue yet provide an example later on indicating that they did.
A third reason for criticism involves the assumptions that form the
basis of an argument. An argument will often seem valid if we grant the
underlying assumption ("Since war is inevitable, we should make the
first strike"). However, once the basic assumption (that war is inevitable)
is identified and questioned, an argument will frequently lose its force.
The use of analogies and metaphors also involves assumptions that may
or may not be appropriate. Unless these are analyzed, they can lead us
astray.

I Exercises
Use the IDEAL Problem Navigation Guide (in Appendix C) to help you
work through a problem involving critical thinking in the real world.
Remember to consider the goals identified in Figure 11.

1. What do you conclude from the statement "Nine out of ten

doctors surveyed recommended this product"?
2. A car maker compared its luxury car to four other well-
known European luxury cars. Its car outperformed each of
the four other cars, which were more expensive. It outper-
formed one of the other cars on a braking test, another on ac-
celeration, another on cornering, and another on interior
noise. What can you conclude about the performance of the
car that outperformed each of the other cars tested?
11m RFrameworkfor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

3. A recent advertisement boasted that more than 70 percent of

the owners of Toyota Corollas, Honda Civics, Ford Escorts,
and Chevrolet Cavaliers actually preferred the new Dodge
Shadow. The survey was based on 100 respondents (about 25
owners of each type of vehicle). Assuming that the facts
described are accurate, what can you conclude?
4. What additional information would you need to evaluate the
claim, "American schoolchildren scored lower on mathe-
matics achievement tests than did children in all other in-
dustrialized countries"? (Assume that all children were of
comparable ages and took comparable achievement tests.)
5. Can you trust the factual claims made in the advertisement
on the facing page?
6. What are some possible problems with the following factual
claim?
Our teachers are better than those at University X. Students
who have graduated from our university average $10,000
more per year than students who graduated from University X.
7. A school survey reveals that students who have computers at
home earn significantly better grades than students who do
not have computers at home. Should the school recommend
that parents buy their children computers?
8. In 1927, Elton Mayo began a study to investigate the effects
of illumination intensity on worker productivity. One of his
findings revealed that when the illumination level was in-
creased, productivity went up. If you were the plant manager,
would you increase the lighting provided for workers at the
plant? Why or why not?
9. If all men in Scottberg live on Gorky Street and no people
who live on Gorky Street love strawberry pie, can we logic-
ally conclude that some men who live in Scottberg love straw-
berry pie?
10. If all xenos are oxons and some oxons are red, can we con-
clude that all xenos are red?
11. If all xenos are oxons and all zeeps are xenos, can we con-
clude that all zeeps are oxons?
12. If all pennies are nickels and all silver coins are nickels, can
we conclude that all pennies are silver?
13. Assume that the following is true: "If I go to the party I can-
 Intelligent Criticism 1m.

not do my homework." If I did not do my homework, can

you conclude that I went to the party?
14. Assume that the following is true: "If the annual inflation rare
rises above 7 percent, then the Federal Reserve Bank will
raise interest rates." If the inflation rate is not above 7 per-
11m RFramework forUsing HnowledgeMore [ffectivelq

cent, we can one conclude that the Federal Reserve Bank did
not raise interest rates?
15. Assume that the following is true : "Putting more money into
public education will not necessarily improve education." Can
we conclude that we can improve public education if we do
not put more money into public education?
16. To test a theory that RNA is used to store information in the
brain, scientists injected 20 people with RNA. They found
that the 20 people performed no better on a memory !est
after they were injected with RNA than before. Have they dis-
proved the theory that RNA is used to store information in
the brain?
17. A publication reports that people in hospitals who are
depressed recuperate much more slowly and less completely
than people who are not depressed. The article goes on to ad-
vocate increased psychological counseling for depressed
patients to improve their chances of recovery. What type of
factual evidence probably supports this conclusion? Are there
alternative explanations for this evidence?
18. Read the following game rules and then answer the questions
below.
This is a two-player game. The players start at opposite
corners of a checkerboard. The players move around the out-
side edge only. The object of the game is to reach the other
player's corner first. Each player rolls the dice, and the player
with the highest roll goes first. This player also picks a direc-
tion, either clockwise or counterclockwise. The other player
must move in the opposite direction. On each turn the dice
are rolled and the player with the highest roll advances one
square on the board. The other player does not move on that
turn. Players cannot occupy the same square at the same time.
a. Does the player who moves first have an advantage?
b. How long will the average game last?
c. If you played 100 games, how many could you expect to win?
Many riddles involving logical reasoning center around the problem of
differentiating a liar from one who tells the truth. Here are two.
19. You are at a road junction with two alternative paths and need
directions about which path to take to the nearest town, but
you don't know if the only person there to help you is a liar or
 Intelligent Criticism Ia

truthful. If he is truthful he will always answer truthfully; if

he is a liar, he will always answer untruthfully. Using only
one question, how can you find out which path is correct?
20. There are two brothers; one always tells the truth and the
other always lies. The truthful brother is very knowledgeable
and always answers correctly; the liar is very poorly informed
and always thinks things are just the opposite of how they
really are. Since the liar is both poorly informed and lies, he
will usually answer questions identically to his brother. For
example, the liar would answer yes to the question, "Is two
plus two equal to four?" because he thinks that two plus two
is not equal to four, but he lies about it. Can you ask one
question requiring a yes or no answer that will tell you which
brother you are talking to?

I Notes
1. J. Dewey, How We Think. Boston: D. C. Heath, 1910.
2. W. N. Dember, Cognition, motivation, and emotion: Ideology
revisited. In R. R. Hoffman and D. S. Palermo (eds.), Cognition and
the Symbolic Processes: Applied and Ecological Perspectives. Hillsdale,
N.J .: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1991.
3. A. Koestler, Janus. New York: Random House, 1978, p. 14.
4. V. Bugliosi, 'Till Death Us Do Part. New York: Bantam, 1979.
5. See D. Huff, How to Lie with Statistics. New York: W. W. Norton,
1954.
6. These data are from the National Safety Council, 1973.
7. More extensive discussion of experimental designs can be found in
D. G. Elmes, B. H. Kantowitz, and H. L. Roediger III, Research Meth-
ods in Psychology (4th ed.). St. Paul, Minn. : West, 1992; D. Radner
and M. Radner, Science and Unreason . Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth,
1982; D. H. McBurney, Experimental Psychology (2nd. ed.). Bel-
mont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1990; M. Mitchell and J. Jolley, Research
Design Explained (2nd. ed.). Fort Worth: Harcourt Brace Jovan-
ovich, 1992.
8. More extensive discussions of reasoning can be found in M.
Scriven, Reasoning. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1976; S. Toulmin, The
Uses of Argument. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press,
1958; S. Toulmin, R. Rieke, and A. Janik, An Introduction to Reason-
ing. New York: Macmillan, 1979.
IIDJ RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

9. SeeM. Gardner, Fads and Fallades in the Name of Science. New York:
Dover, 1957.
10. P. C. Wason, Reasoning about a rule. Quarterly Journal of Experimen-
tal Psychology 20 (1968):273..:...281.
11. H. S. Kushner, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. New York:
Avon, 1981.
12. N. Calder, Einstein's Universe. New York: Penguin, 1980.
13. T. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University of
Chicago Press, 1962.
14. These examples are from J.D. Bransford and N. S. McCarrell, A
sketch of a cognitive approach to comprehension. In W. Weimer
and D. Palermo (eds.), Cognition and the Symbolic Processes. Hillsdale,
N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1974.

I Suggested Readings
Practicallq Oriented Readings
Anderson, B. F. 1980. Chap. 3, "Reasoning," in The Complete Thinker.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Beardsley, M. C. 1950. Thinking Straight: Principles of Reasoning for Readers
and Writers. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Campbell, S. K. 1974. Flaws and Fallacies in Statistical Thinking. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Fogelin, R. J. 1978. Understanding Arguments: An Introduction to Informal
Logic. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich.
Halpern, D. F. 1989. Thought and Knowledge: An Introduction to Critical
Thinking (2d. ed.). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Huff, D. 1954. How to Lie with Statistics. New York: W. W. Norton.
Radner, D., and M. Radner. 1982. Science and Unreason. Belmont, Calif.:
Wadsworth.
Scriven, M. 1976. Reasoning. New York: McGraw-Hill.
Toulmin, S., R. Rieke, and A. Janik. 1979. An Introduction to Reasoning.
New York: Macmillan.
Whimbey, A., and R. Lochhead. 1982. Chap. 4, "Verbal Reasoning
Problems," Chap. 6, "Analogies," Chap. 7, "Writing Relationship
Sentences," and Chap. 8, "How to Form Analogies," in Problem Solv-
ing and Comprehension. Philadelphia: Franklin Institute Press.
Zechmeister, E. B. and J. E. Johnson. 1992. Critical thinking: A Functional
Approach. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth.
 Intelligent Criticism . . .

Theoreticallq Oriented Readings

Egan, D. E., and D. D. Grimes-Farrow. 1982. Differences in mental repre-
sentations spontaneously adopted for reasoning. Memory and Cogni-
tion 10:297-307.
Hempel, C. G. 1966. Philosophy of Natural Sdence. Englewood Cliffs, N.J .:
Prentice-Hall.
Kahneman, D., P. Slavic, and A. Tversky (eds.). 1982. Judgment Under
Uncertainty: Heuristics and Biases. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Kuhn, T. S. 1962. The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
Mayer, R. E. 1991. Thinking, Problem Solving, Cognition (2d ed.). New York:
W. H. Freeman.
Paul, R. W. 1986. Dialogical thinking: Critical thought essential to the
acquisiton of rational knowledge and passions. In J. B. Baron and R.
J. Sternberg (eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Practice. New
York: W. H. Freeman.
Wason, P. C., and P. N. Johnson-Laird. 1972. Psychology of Reasoning: Struc-
ture and Content. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.
 EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION

What is there greater than the word which persuades the judges in
the courts, or the senators in the council, or the citizens in the assembly,
or at any other political meeting?
Plato 1

In the preceding chapters we discussed ways to improve creativity and

develop effective criticism. For your ideas to have an important impact,
they must at some point be communicated to others. Without effective
communication skills, good ideas can easily be ignored. In this chapter we
will examine how the IDEAL framework can be applied to communica-
tion problems and opportunities.

I The Importance of ldentif~ing Communication Problems

The first step in developing an effective approach to communication is to
identify the existence of potential problems. Although we communicate
with many people every day, most of our communication involves rela-
tively routine thinking. We may greet people, conduct transactions at a
bank, or discuss recent news events with people at work-activities that
are relatively routine. Sometimes these routine attempts to communicate
break down, and we must identify the problem before serious conse-
quences result. For example, most of us have at one time or another
made a comment that was meant to be funny but was misinterpreted by
IIIII HFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

a friend as an insult. If we do not identify the existence of such a com-

munication problem, we could lose a valued friendship.
In addition to identifying problems that arise in relatively routine
communications, we must also identify those that arise in nonroutine
situations, such as making a presentation to a large group of people we
don't know. We have seen many attempts to communicate fail when the
goal of communicating with a large group of strangers was approached in
the same way as more routine types of communication such as talking to
a small group of friends. To develop effective communication skills, we
must first recognize situations that require nonroutine approaches and
treat them as opportunities to develop creative solutions. To help you do
this, we will focus on three ways to think about your communication
goals.

I Three Waqs of Defining Communication Goals

Once a communication problem has been identified, it is important to
define your communication goals. For example, when you are applying
for a job your goal may be to convince the employer that you have
something important to contribute to the organization. It is important to
recognize that your goal always involves a message (for example, that
you have something important to contribute), an audience (the prospec-
tive employer), and a presentation medium (a personal interview, letter,
or group presentation) . These subgoals are represented by the acronym
MAP-message, audience, presentation medium-and are illustrated in
Figure 16.
Failure to consider each of these components of your communica-
tion goals can frustrate your overall attempt to communicate. For ex-
ample, if you tried to convince a prospective employer that you are easy
to get along with by means of the same communication strategy that you
might use to invite a friend to a party, the prospective employer might
misunderstand the message and think that you are not a diligent worker.
The way you define each of these subgoals can influence the strategies
you use for communication. We will consider in the following discussion
how these subgoals affect the strategies that should be explored for effec-
tive communication. Later in the chapter we will consider the impor-
tance of anticipating outcomes before ading on your communication
strategies. We will also consider the importance of looking back and learn-
ing from your attempts to communicate.
 Effective Communic~tion . .

Define communication goals

Presentation
Medium

Explore appropriate strategies

Agure 16

I Message
Sometimes people adopt a message that is actually ambiguous but that
they want to seem clear. For example, imagine that your goal is to win an
election. If the electorate (your audience) includes people with conflict-
ing sets of beliefs, you may purposely try to be ambiguous. Thus you
might say, "You know what is needed and I am going to do it," in the
hope that everyone will make the invited inference that you agree with
his or her ideas. The goal of ambiguity may not be lofty, but it seems to be
one that people sometimes adopt.
We will assume, however, that your goal is to be clear rather than
ambiguous. You therefore need to have a clear idea of your message. This
may seem obvious, but it is amazing how often people are unclear about
what they really want to communicate. They have a general idea of their
message but when asked to put it into words, they often discover that it's
not so easy to do.
Consider the following introduction to a presentation on
economics. 2
111r1 AFrameworh for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

The persistent economic woes that now plague the United States will not
be vanquished, or even substantially curbed, until new currents of thought
emerge within the federal government that will force it to commence with
the difficult policies required to assuage our present problems.
Daniel Fader describes his interactions with the economics student who
wrote this introduction. Fader's first request was that he state what he
meant by the sentence. The student's response to Fader's question was as
follows:

Well, yeah, America 's worst economic problems won 't be solved until the
government, until the government, comes up with some tough new policies.
Fader asked the student why he had not written this, instead of the
"woes" and "plague" and "vanquished" and "assuage." The student's
answer is revealing.

That's just the kind of stuff you use to write about economics and things
like that.
It is possible that some audiences are more impressed by sophisti-
cated-sounding words than by the clarity of the message, but this has not
been our experience. Most people value presentations that provide a
clear and concise statement of the key ideas.
Fader's strategy for helping the economics student better under-
stand his message was simple but powerful. He had the student restate
the message in his own words and keep the statement as simple as
possible. Fader notes that as the student tried to paraphrase his introduc-
tion, he developed a much better understanding of the issues. In the end,
he began his presentation by advising the government to develop tough
new economic policies based on economic facts rather than economic
politics.3 This was a much clearer introduction to the message the student
wanted to present.
Some people use the strategy of reformulating their message into
two or three "talking points" that summarize the essence of what they
wish to communicate. This can be very beneficial in helping you clarify
what you want to say.

I Audience
As you clarify your message it is also important to define your audience.
Different communication strategies are necessary depending on the
 Effective Communication . . .

knowledge, interests, attitudes, and customs of the people you plan to

address. Obviously, it would not be wise to speak English to a group of
people who understood only French. Even when people can speak your
language, however, you must communicate differently depending on
what they know. For example, if you wanted to help third and fourth
graders learn something about problem solving, you could probably find
a way to do so, but it is doubtful that you would suggest that they read
this book. Most children in the third and fourth grades can read, but they
do not have enough knowledge to understand many of the concepts and
examples used in this book. 4

Differences in Background Hnowledge

Here is a message that can be meaningful to the right audience. Try to
figure out how it can be made to make sense. 5

If the balloons popped, the sound would not be able to carry since every-
thing would be too far away from the correct floor. A closed window
would also prevent the sound from carrying, since most buildings tend to
be well insulated. Since the whole operation depends on a steady flow of
electricity, a break in the middle of the wire would also cause problems.
Of course the fellow could shout, but the human voice is not loud
enough to carry that far. An additional problem is that a string could
break on the instrument. Then there could be no accompaniment to the
message. It is clear that the best situation would involve less distance.
Then there would be fewer potential problems. With face-to-face con-
tact, the least number of things could go wrong.

Most people have a difficult time understanding this passage. Given

the information in Figure 17, however, it makes sense (look at the picture
and then read the passage again) . The passage would be quite compre-
hensible if you delivered it to an audience that already possessed the
relevant background information. However, the same message would
make no sense to people who did not possess that information.
We often need to discuss a topic even though many members of our
audience do not possess extensive background knowledge about it. If you
are a lawyer, for example, you may need to communicate information
about biology, psychiatry, or physics to the members of a jury. The use of
metaphors, analogies, and concrete examples can be very helpful in such
situations. Consider Nigel Calder's use of metaphor and analogy to ex-
plain about a black hole in space, which he describes as "a great starswal-
11m R Framework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

D
0
DO
DOD

Rgure 17A picture that allows people to understand the passage about the
balloons.

lower.... When stars or gas [come] close to it they [swirl] in faster and
faster like water approaching a plug hole.'' 6 This is a very helpful analogy
provided that people already know what it is like for water to swirl down
a drain or plug hole. To evaluate the appropriateness of analogies and
examples, you must know something about your audience's knowledge
base.
Factual information may also need to be presented in different ways
depending on your audience. For example, imagine that you want to
make the following claim: "By the time they graduate from high school,
American children have watched an average of 18,000 hours of
television." Whether or not your audience will understand the sig-
nificance of this depends on how familiar they are with thinking in terms
 Effective Communication IIIDI

of thousands of hours. Usually you will need to make such a fact more
meaningful. For example, you might tell your audience that this figure
amounts to several hours of TV viewing each day, or you could point out
that 18,000 hours is more than most of these students have spent in
school. The units and comparisons that are most meaningful will depend
on what your audience already knows.
One of the major limitations of school-based instruction in com-
munication is that the presenter's audience is usually very limited, con-
sisting of the teacher and fellow students. But in everyday life, one has to
communicate with people who have different levels of knowledge, ex-
perience, and expectations. In these circumstances, it is important to
explore what the audience already knows about your topic and what it
expects from you.

Technical JargonVersus Ooublespeak

Knowledge of your audience will also help you decide whether to use
technical language or everyday English. The use of technical jargon can
greatly improve the efficiency of communication. For example, a phrase
such as "an A-B, A-C retroactive interference paradigm" is an extremely
efficient way for a scientist to communicate, provided that the intended
audience is familiar with this technical term.
Technical jargon can also be used for other purposes. One is to make
a message less direct and hence less objectionable. For example, Edwin
Newman, an authority on the uses and abuses of the English language,
notes that in today's world people are often "outplaced" rather than
"fired. "7 Similarly, someone who does not own a car is "transportation
disadvantaged." Still another example of jargon designed to make unwel-
come information more palatable is "strategic retrograde action," which
was used to describe retreat during the Vietnam War.
William Lutz uses the term doublespeak to refer to technical jargon
that is used to deliberately mislead or deceive people.8 For example,
when President Reagan proposed a $3 billion tax increase, his advisors
described it as a "revenue enhancement" so that Reagan would seem to
be honoring his pledge not to raise taxes . When the Reagan administra-
tion proposed a plan to increase the federal gasoline tax by 5 cents a
gallon, it was disguised as a "user's fee" imposed on those who use cars
and gasoline. Some forms of doublespeak are even more sinister. For
example, Lutz notes that the investigative reporters Donald Bartlett and
11m RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

James Steele uncovered the following passage in the U.S. Tax Reform Act
of 1986.

In the case of a partnership with a taxable year beginning May 1, 1986, if

such partnership realized net capital gain during the period beginning on
the first day of such taxable year and ending on May 29, 1986, pursuant
to an indemnity agreement dated May 6, 1986, then such partnership may
elect to treat each asset to which such net capital gain relates as having
been distributed to the partners of such partnership in proportion to their
distributive share of the capital gain or loss realized by the partnership
with respect to each asset.

Lutz notes that this passage specifically created a tax loophole for the
partners of Bear Stearns and Companies, Inc., that saved them approx-
imately $8 million in taxes. Some other examples of doublespeak are
listed below.

Unlawful or arbitrary deprivation of life Killing

Nonperforming assets Bad debt
Sexual reassignment surgery Sex-change operation
Wood interdental stimulator Toothpick
Portable hand-held communications inscriber Pencil
Indefinite idling Laying off workers
Downsizing personnel Laying off workers
Headcount reductions Laying off workers
Negative employee retention Laying off workers

Communic~tion Rcross Cultures

The task of creating messages appropriate to a particular audience can be
especially difficult when dealing with members of different cultures or
subcultures. Since most of us tend to take our cultural knowledge for
granted, we often fail to realize that others may not share our view of the
world. For example, researchers have presented Americans and natives
of India with written descriptions of an American wedding and an Indian
wedding. 9 Although members of both groups knew something about
weddings, they frequently misinterpreted aspects of the other culture's
ceremony. The description of the American wedding included the fact
that the bride wore "something old, something new, something bor-
rowed, something blue." The Americans knew that this was part of a
tradition, but many of the Indians interpreted it differently. They felt
sorry for the bride because she had to borrow and wear old clothes.
 Effective Communication lltDI

The Indians' and Americans' misinterpretations of each other's

weddings were unlikely to have serious international ramifications. Nev-
ertheless, it is easy to imagine situations in which differences in inter-
pretation can have unfortunate consequences. For example, the cliche
"When the going gets tough, the tough get going" is usually interpreted
as a statement of the importance of self-determination. Members of
another culture, however, could see it as an attempt to bully by reference
to a threat of war.
Cross-cultural communication is often a problem for companies
doing business in other countries. For example, an article in the Wall
Street Journal described an incident in which a U.S. firm asked its Jap-
anese distributor to advertise a new product. 10 The Japanese distributor
agreed. A year later the owner of the U.S. firm found that not a single
advertisement had been placed. He later discovered that in Japan "yes"
does not necessarily mean "Yes, I will do it." Instead it often means "Yes,
I understand."
Communication often involves nonverbal as well as verbal mes-
sages. Like verbal messages, nonverbal messages can be misinterpreted
across cultures. One example of this is eye contact. In the United States,
it is generally considered important to "look people in the eye"; if you
glance into an American's eyes and then quickly look away, you are likely
to be perceived as unsure of yourself or even rude. In other cultures,
however, direct eye contact can have other meanings. In some Native
American tribes young children are taught that it is disrespectful to look
an elder in the eye, and eye contact by others can seem disrespectful.
Likewise, Native American children are often perceived as uninterested
by their white teachers because they tend to look away. 11

Expectations of the Audience

An important question to ask about your audience is what its implicit
rules of conduct are likely to be. For example, we have attended meetings
at which the name of the game was for the speaker to present a lot of
hype about his or her ideas and the advantages for the audience in
adopting them. There was no serious discussion about the weaknesses as
well as the strengths of the ideas and about how the ideas might be
improved. Imagine that you want to talk about weaknesses as well as
strengths but you are at a meeting where all the other speakers are
trumpeting only the strengths of their ideas. If you come on with a
serious discussion of both strengths and weaknesses, you may well seem
111!1 RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effe c tive!~

boring and weak compared with the other speakers. It is very important
to make sure that your goals fit in with the audience's expectations. If
you want to keep your standards high, you will probably find yourself
turning down invitations to speak in some settings where the expecta-
tions do not match your own.
Several years ago one of us went to an academic symposium that
was attended by more than 500 people and featured four nationally
known speakers. Each speaker spoke for about 20 minutes, followed by
questions and comments. The room became tense as the fourth speaker
presented data that called into question a theory that the first speaker
had published several years earlier. After the fourth speaker finished, the
moderator asked the first speaker if he wanted to reply. You could have
heard a pin drop as the first speaker approached the podium. He began,
"About my paper where I argued that. . .. " Then he paused and, with a
grin, said, "Can I take that back?" The room broke into applause.
This first speaker's courage taught us a powerful lesson. Science is
based on respect for data rather than for slick performances. The speaker
demonstrated his respect for the data, and the audience greatly appre-
ciated his acknowledgment. But not all audiences are like this.

I Presentation Medium
The third component of MAP is the presentation medium you use when
presenting your message . Possible formats include oral presentations,
written presentations, interactive software, and interactive multimedia.
Each of these is discussed below.

Some Hdvantages of Speaking

Given a choice between a friendly face-to-face conversation and writing
a letter or paper, most people prefer the conversation. One reason is that
most people speak much faster than they write. The slowness of writing
is one of the major reasons that people do not like it. They think that its
slowness interferes with their thinking, which can seem quite fast.
Another advantage of speaking over writing is that speakers can
convey more in different ways. They can use facial expressions, gestures,
and different intonations to make their messages clear. In addition,
speakers usually have a number of chances to clarify their meaning, since
the audience can ask questions or indicate it does not understand. In
 Effective Communication ltDI

contrast, writers are usually isolated from their audience, and they are
unable to rely on outside sources of information such as gestures. Writers
must therefore work hard to state their ideas clearly and avoid ambiguity.
Many people do not like this extra work.

Some Advantages of Writing

Although writing does need to be less ambiguous than spoken language
and is slower, it has its advantages. An extremely important one is that
writing persists over time and space and so can be analyzed with consid-
erably more care than can spoken language. Indeed, some theorists argue
that the invention of written language was one of the hallmarks of
human development because it enabled people to become more precise
in their analysis of arguments.
One way to appreciate the greater precision of written language is to
compare written and spoken sentences. If you tape-record everyday
conversations and then type them word for word, you will be amazed at
the number of false starts, pauses, "urn's," and other imperfections. The
linguist Wallace Chafe provides the following illustrations. 12
I'm feeling OK now (laugh), but uh I had last week I thought I was
(laugh) dying. You heard that I fainted in the shower.
When we are listening to others we tend not to notice all the false starts
and pauses. When we write, however, we are expected to produce sen-
tences that are well organized. We therefore need to plan and evaluate
our statements more carefully.
That written language persists over time and space also has advan-
tages that go beyond the level of individual sentences. Since written
information can be stored, it is easier to compare earlier statements with
those made later on. This can lead to the detection of inconsistencies and
enable the writer to rethink his or her ideas.
An additional advantage of writing over speaking is that it does not
require that we begin at the beginning and proceed until we reach the
end. Papers can be written in any order we choose. Interestingly, many stu-
dents do not realize this at first and may spend hours trying to find "the
perfect" introductory sentence or paragraph. Experienced writers often
skip the introduction or spend very little time on it at first because they
know that they will get a better idea of their thesis as they write and will
end up redoing the introduction anyway. Experienced writers can also
work on different parts of a paper at different times. For example, if at
lltJI R Framework tor Using Hnowledge More Effectivelq

some point you will have to supply background on your main character,
you can write this at any time-such as when you need to incubate other
ideas. Writing permlts a great deal of flexibility in the strategies you use. 13

Effective Use of Visual Rids

Visual aids can greatly facilitate communication regardless of whether
you intend to communicate orally or in writing. For example, one of us
recently participated in a committee that was set up to explore salary
inequities across disciplines at the university. One of the administrators
interviewed by the committee was certain that there were inequities
across disciplines and said that although he had tried for years to con-
vince the faculty of the problem, he had never been successful. The
committee realized that it needed a simple way to illustrate the salary
inequities so that even people who did not feel comfortable with num-
bers could understand. A visual representation similar to the one the
committee used is shown in Figure 18. The committee's report generated
such a strong reaction from the faculty that action was soon taken to
correct the problem.

55,000

50,000

...
V>

.!2 45,000
0
"0
.5
...>-
"'
<0
Vl
40,000

35 ,000

30,000
Local National Local National
Di scipline A Discipline B

Rgure 18
 Effective Communication liB

It is important to realize, however, that not all visual strategies

facilitate communication. The effectiveness of an illustration ultimately
depends on whether it helps clarify the underlying message and whether
it can be seen and understood by the audience. We have seen numerous
presentations in which tables or charts were used that presented too
much information too quickly. In other cases, presenters fail to enlarge
the information sufficiently for the audience to see important details.
Edward Tufte 14 has described many of the problems that can detract from
the effectiveness of visual illustrations.

Interactive Computer Programs

Modern computer technology makes it possible to create new forms of
communication that combine some of the advantages of spoken and
written messages. Programs that interact with users (that is, with your
audience) are one example. Imagine that you want to write a letter to
your mother, but you want to program it on a computer and store it on
disk rather than write it down on paper. You might write the program so
that when your mother uses the disk with her computer, the message on
her screen reads: "Hi, Mom. I have several things to tell you. Please
choose the topic you want to start with."
Your computer program might then provide a menu of topics, such
as (l) "How I spent my summer vacation," (2) "When I could come to
visit," and (3) "Why I want to get married next month." By selecting l, 2,
or 3, your mother could read about each topic in the order she chooses.
In addition, you could program tests that increased the probability that
your intended message was conveyed. For example, after your mother
had read part of your message, you could provide choices allowing her to
indicate her reaction. Thus you might ask, "What do you think about
what I've just told you?" Choices might be (1) "''m elated," (2) "It's okay,
but certainly not great," or (3) "You are disinherited." Your program
could then respond in different ways depending on your mother's answer
(that is, on how she interacted with your program). If she chose option 3
("You are disinherited"), for example, your program could respond with
"Wait a minute, you must have misunderstood something," and so forth.
Interactive computer programs have the potential to provide interactive
communication in which answers depend on questions. In addition, the
message can persist in space and time.
11fi1 RFramework tor Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Multimedia Presentations
Another way to apply modern technology to communication problems
involves multimedia presentations that combine voice, text, still pictures,
and moving video. These can all be controlled at the touch of a computer
button and so can be used in extremely powerful ways. In a presentation,
video, sound, and other resources can be used to illustrate one's points.
Each medium has different strengths. For example, we find that some
points simply cannot be made forcefully by talking about them, but their
significance immediately becomes apparent in a short videoclip. In other
cases, people prefer written documents over videos because they want to
analyze the information in detail.
Multimedia technology is already changing the standards people
have for effective presentations. In many circles it is no longer sufficient
simply to talk to the audience and use overheads that list the main points.
Instead, audiences want to see and hear what the speakers are talking
about. The good side of these changes is that people are learning to use
the new resources to communicate in powerful new ways. The bad side
is that multimedia can make it easier for glitz to win out over substance.
Ultimately, however, audiences will demand substance from multimedia
presentations.

I Evaluating the Effectiveness of Your Attempts

to Communicate
Anticipate Outcomes and Ret
Often it is difficult for the person who delivers the message to anticipate
the consequence of using a particular communication strategy. One rea-
son is that the creator of the message is usually much more familiar than
the audience with the communication goals. As a result, he or she can
infer missing information and hence fail to detect communication gaps. It
is also difficult to anticipate how the audience's attitudes and expecta-
tions may affect its understanding of the message.
One of the most common strategies used by effective communi-
cators to help them anticipate the effects of a particular communication
strategy is to test it on other people. Ideally, those from whom you get
feedback should be similar to the intended audience, especially if you
want to assess your communication strategy. Many of the issues we
 Effective Communication IDlJI

considered in our discussion of focus groups (see Chapter 3) are relevant

to anticipating the effects of communication strategies.
In some cases it is relatively easy to anticipate the outcome of using
a particular communication strategy. For example, if you know the size
of the room where a presentation will be given, it is easy to determine
whether the audience will be able to see your visual aids clearly. How-
ever, anticipating how the audience's expectations and attitudes will in-
teract with your communication strategies is more difficult to assess and
may require that you obtain outside input. Similarly, editors and publish-
ers often solicit comments from individuals whose opinions may be rep-
resentative of the intended audience for a new article or publication.

Look and Learn

Once you have acted on your communication strategy it is important to
look at the effects to learn from your experience. This is especially impor-
tant if your goal is to become an effective communicator, since people are
rarely outstanding at this the first time they try.
Audience feedback can be an important source of information about
the effectiveness of your strategies and the appropriateness of your goals.
For example, the questions people ask can help you evaluate whether
you defined the nature of your audience correctly and used communica-
tion strategies that allowed people to relate your message to their own
experiences.
Videotaping your presentation can also provide an effective way of
looking back at your presentation (at mannerisms, intonation, gestures,
answers to questions) and can help you improve your effectiveness. We
have observed many instances of a speaker's communication goals being
disrupted by an annoying presentation style or an inability to answer
questions without becoming defensive. Critically reviewing a videotape
of your own presentation can help you identify potential problems and
better define your goals for improvement.
The IDEAL framework and the MAP configuration shown in Figure
16 provide a useful framework for looking at the effects of your attempts
to communicate and learning from them. For each component of MAP,
ask yourself if you failed to identify potential problems, clearly define
your goals, explore a wide enough range of strategies, or anticipate the
effects of various strategies. If your experiences are like ours, you will
find that there is something useful to learn from every attempt to com-
municate.
1111 HFramework torUsing Knowledge MoreEffectivelq

I Summar~
-
After you have gone through the problem-solving process, have gener-
ated some exciting, creative ideas, and are ready to communicate them to
an important audience, three subgoals must be clearly defined to plan an
effective communication strategy. These subgoals are message, audience,
and presentation, or MAP: define the message you plan to present, define
the audience to which you will present it, and define the presentation
format (oral, written, interactive, multimedia) that you plan to use. Each
of these subgoals affects the selection of an effective communication
strategy.
In considering your message, explore strategies for clarifying what
you really want to say. Although this may seem obvious, it is an impor-
tant step that is often overlooked.
It is also important to carefully define the audience. A message that
is perfectly comprehensible to one audience may be a complete mystery
to another. When we attempt to communicate across cultures we run
into additional problems, since what is understood may be very different
from what we intended.
Also, consider the audience's expectations of a presentation. Does it
expect glitz, hype, and cheerleading or a serious analysis of issues? Fail-
ure to address this question can lead to serious mismatches between
audience and presentation.
When choosing a presentation format, explore the advantages and
disadvantages of different media, including oral communication, writing,
visual illustrations, interactive software, and multimedia.
Finally, it is important to evaluate attempts to communicate and
learn from them. The IDEAL approach, together with the MAP subgoals,
provides a useful framework for evaluating effects.

I Exercises
Use the IDEAL Problem Navigation Guide in Appendix C to help you
work though a real-world communication problem. Remember to con-
sider each of the MAP subgoals illustrated in Figure 16 when you define
your goals.
 Effective Communication Ia

I Notes
1. B. Jowett, The Dialogues of Plato, Vol. 1. New York: Random House,
1937.
2. From D. Fader, Narrowing the space between language and text.
In P. L. Stock (ed.), F Forum: Essays on Theory and Practice in the
Teaching of Writing. Upper Montclair, N.J.: Boynton Cook, 1983.
3. See note 2.
4. See especially T. C. Anderson, Role of the reader's schema in com-
prehension, learning and memory. In R. Anderson, J. Osborn, and
R. Tierney (eds.), Learning to Read in American Schools: Basal Readers
and Content Texts. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates,
1984.
5. From J.D. Bransford and M. K. Johnson, Contextual prerequisites
for understanding: Some investigations of comprehension and
recall. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 11 ( 1972) :717-
726.
6. N. Calder, Einstein 's Universe. New York: Penguin, 1980.
7. Cited in Simply Stated: The Monthly Newsletter of the Document Design
Center, American Institute for Research 32 (De.c. 1982-Jan. 1983).
8. W. Lutz, Doublespeak: From "Revenue Enhancement " to "Terminal
Living," How Government, Business, Advertisers, and Others Use Lan-
guage to Deceive You . New York: Harper & Row, 1989.
9. M. S. Steffensen, D. Joag-Deci, and R. C. Anderson, A cross-
cultural perspective on reading comprehension, Reading Research
Quarterly 15 (1979):10-29.
10. H. Klein, Firms seek aid in deciphering Japan's culture. The Wall
Street Journal (Sep. L 1983) :27.
11. See R. Freedle, Interaction of language use with ethnography and
cognition. In J. H. Harvey (ed.), Cognition, Social Behavior and the En-
vironment. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1981.
12. From W. L. Chafe, Speakers and writers do different things. In P. L.
Stock (ed.), F Forum: Essays on Theory and Practice in the Teaching of
Writing. Upper Montclair, N.J.: Boynton Cook, 1983.
13 . Excellent discussions of writing can be found in L. Flower, Problem-
Solving Strategies for Writing . New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich,
1981 ; S. Pearl, Understanding composing. Composition and Com-
munication 31 (1980):363-369; C. BereiterandM. Scardamalia,
The Psychology of Written Communication . Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence
11m RFramework for Using Hnowledge More Effective!~

Erlbaum Associates, 1987; P. L. Stock (ed.), F Forum: Essays on

Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing. Upper Montclair, N.J.:
Boynton Cook, 1983 .
14. E. R. Thfte, The Visual Display of Quantitative Information. Cheshire,
Conn.: Graphics Press, 1983.

I Suggested Readings

Practicallu Oriented Readings

Flower, L. 1981. Problem-Solving Strategies for Writing . New York: Harcourt
Brace Jovanovich.

Theoreticallu Oriented Readings

Flower, L., V. Stein, J. Ackerman, M. J. Kantz, K. McCormick, and W. C.
Peck. 1990. Reading to Write: Exploring a Cognitive and Social Process.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Freedle, R. 1981. Interaction of language use with ethnography and cog-
nition. In J. H. Harvey (ed.), Cognition, Social Behavior and the En-
vironment. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hull, G. H. 1989. Research on writing: Building a cognitive and social
understanding of composing. In L. B. Resnick and L. E. Klopfer
(eds.), Toward the Thinking Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research.
Alexandria, Va.: American Society for Curriculum Development.
Pearl, S. 1980. Understanding composing. Composition and Communication
31: 363-369. Scardemalia, M., and C. Bereiter. 1987. Knowledge
telling and knowledge transforming in written composition. In S.
Rosenberg (ed.) , Advances in Applied Psycholinguistics, Vol. 2, Reading,
Writing, and Language Learning. Cambridge, England: Cambridge
University Press.
Sommers, N. 1980. Revision strategies of student writers and ex-
perienced adult writers. Composition and Communication, 31:3 78-388.
Steffensen, M. S., D. Joag-Deck, and R. C. Anderson. 1979. A cross-cul-
tural perspective on reading comprehension. Reading Research
Quarterly 15:10-29.
Stock, P. L. (ed.). 1983. F Forum: Essays on Theory and Practice in the
Teaching of Writing . Upper Montclair, N.J.: Boynton Cook.
 A MODEL FOR
ACQUIRING NEW
KNOWLEDGE
 IMPROVING MEMORY
SKILLS

The unassisted hand and the understanding left to itself possess but
little power. Effects are produced by means of instruments and helps,
which the understanding requires no less than the hand.
Sir Frands Bacon, 1620 1

In Part l we explored ways of using existing knowledge more effectively

to solve problems. We also noted that many problems require specialized
knowledge-knowledge that we must first learn and remember. In Part 2
we consider ways of improving our ability to acquire new knowledge.
The goal of this chapter is to explore strategies that can increase our
ability to remember information. These strategies operate like other use-
ful tools that human beings have developed. Like a good hammer, for
example, a memory tool can help us perform tasks that otherwise would
be difficult or even impossible. However, just as a hammer may be ap-
propriate for some tasks but not for others (pounding nails versus tight-
ening a bolt, for example), a particular memory strategy may or may not
be appropriate, depending on the nature of the problem. The exploration
and eventual selection of strategies must therefore be preceded by iden-
tification of the particular memory problem to be solved and by a careful
definition of one's goals. The appropriateness of particular strategies can
then be evaluated by anticipating the outcome of using them, acting on
those that seem most promising, and looking back at their effects to see if
they have helped to accomplish the defined goals. These are all com-
ponents of the IDEAL model discussed in Chapter 2. This model will
provide the basis for our discussion of improving memory performance.
We begin with an analysis of a simple memory task.
IIIII RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

I Remembering as Problem Solving

A father we know purchased a new combination lock for his son to use
in the gym at school. His son read the directions and then asked to
borrow a pen. The reason, the son explained, was to write the combina-
tion of the lock inside his tennis shoes and gym bag.
This is an excellent illustration of everyday problem solving that
involves the need to remember information. First and foremost, the son
identified the existence of a potential problem. If he locked his locker but
did not know the combination to the lock, he would be unable to get to
his clothes. Locks often have to be cut off of lockers because people fail to
recognize the existence of this potential problem.
The son also defined his goals for solving the problem, at least im-
plicitly. He asked himself, "How can I make sure I know this combination
without having to memorize and risk forgetting it? After exploring pos-
sible strategies he decided to write the combination inside his tennis
shoes and gym bag. The son explained that he had first thought about
writing the combination inside his street shoes but then changed his
mind. Implicitly, at least, he anticipated the effect of this potential strategy
and realized that it would not work. Although he would be wearing
street shoes to the gym, his street shoes would be locked in his locker
during gym class.
The boy's father pointed out a different strategy for remembering
the combination-an elaboration strategy. He noted that the first num-
ber, 13, was his son's age; the second number, 8, was the month of his
son's mother's birthday; and the third number, 14, was the age his son
would be on his next birthday. At first the son was skeptical of this
strategy but later found that it worked well.
The combination lock problem is one of thousands that revolve
around the task of remembering information. The father and son each
used strategies that, while different, were both effective in helping them
accomplish their goals.

Examples of Different Strategies

To understand how different memory goals require different types of
strategies, consider the following problem. The list below contains 2 5
words; spend approximately 1 1!2 minutes studying the list (approximate-
ly 4 seconds per word). Then, without looking at the list, write down as
many of the words as you can. Please begin now.
 Improving Hemorq Skills 1&11

couch potato hat trumpet boat desk carrot shirt piano cat chair
watermelon pants harp airplane table bread coat violin bicycle bed
tomato glove drum truck

People take a variety of approaches to such memory problems. We will

discuss these differences from the perspective of the IDEAL framework.
We assume that all people identify the existence of a problem since
they have been told that there is a problem to be solved. Most people
define the goal as recalling as many words as possible in any order. They
therefore explore strategies such as organizing related words and recalling
them in categories. For example, couch, desk, chair, and bed; trumpet,
piano harp, and drum; and so forth.
Categorization strategies can be very useful for remembering. How-
ever, as with all memory strategies, their usefulness is strongly dependent
on the memory goal. Imagine that the preceding task had been to recall
the words in their exact order of appearance. Now a categorization
strategy would no longer be optimal. A better strategy would be to con-
struct a story that uses each word in the order in which it appears (for
example a couch potato wearing a hat played a trumpet while sailing in
his boat. Then he went home to his desk and ... ) .
As an additional example, assume that the goal is to recall all the
words in reverse order, and to do this quickly. The categorization strategy
is not appropriate, and the story strategy also leads to problems because
it is difficult to tell a story from end to beginning. However, the peg-word
strategy that will be discussed later in this chapter is excellent for achiev-
ing this goal.
Here are some additional memory goals that could be adopted for
the list of 2 5 words.

1. Remember the words that contain at least one e.

2. Remember the two-syllable words.
3. Remember the words that occur third, fifth, tenth, and
twentieth on the list.
4. Remember the words that are homonyms (those that have
at least two distinct meanings, such as traffic jam and
strawberry jam).
5. Remember the words in alphabetical order.

Each of these goals requires the use of different strategies for learning.
Effective problem solvers must be flexible; they must define their goals
.:m11 RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

carefully and use different strategies depending on the nature of the

memory problem they are asked to solve.
If you have ever taken an exam, you know the importance of
clarifying your goals ahead of time. For example, it is especially impor-
tant to know whether it will be an essay exam or a multiple-choice exam.
For an essay exam, you need to explore strategies that will help you
organize and remember information without strong retrieval cues; you
might therefore generate acronyms (discussed later) and use other proce-
dures for helping you retrieve relevant information. For multiple-choice
exams, retrieval is less important because each choice is in effect a poten-
tial retrieval cue. For multiple-choice exams, it is usually better to pay
attention to definitions and make sure that you have learned the distinc-
tions among terms that you need to know.
We discuss various strategies in more detail later. For the moment,
it is important to note that people's approaches to the preceding memory
problem also differ with respect to the anticipate/act and look/learn com-
ponents of the IDEAL process. For example, some people begin by an-
ticipating the effects of different strategies, acting on one they think will
work, and looking at the effects. If one strategy does not work, they may
change strategies as they proceed through the list. In contrast, other
people use the same strategy throughout the entire task. Differences in
the anticipate/act and look/learn components become even more ap-
parent if the task is changed. For example, imagine that the problem is to
study until you are confident of your ability to recall all the words on the
list. Effective learners will undoubtedly change their strategy if the initial
one seems ineffective and concentrate their attention on words they
cannot recall rather than on those that they can recall.

The Effectiveness of Different Strategies

If you experiment with memory problems like the one just presented,
you will undoubtedly find that some of the strategies are more effective
than others. For example, the simple strategy of repeating each word
several times will usually result in poorer recall than such strategies as
organizing words into categories or making up a story (and perhaps
supplementing it with images) that links all of the words .2 Later we
discuss why some strategies are better than others.
As we said earlier, the appropriateness of a strategy depends on the
nature of the memory problem you are trying to solve. Suppose you look
up a new phone number and want to remember it only long enough to
walk across the room to dial. You are therefore attempting to solve a
 Improving Memorij Skills 1DfJ1

problem of short-term rather than long-term memory. An effective strat-

egy in this case is simply to repeat the number to yourself as you walk
across the room. Interestingly, even this simple strategy involves a rela-
tively sophisticated level of problem solving. Studies with kindergarten
children show that, although they may want to remember information,
many children do not realize that they need to repeat it. 3 Not surprising-
ly, those who did not repeat the information also did not remember it
well.
Returning to the earlier problem, 25 is far too many words to hold
in short-term memory by simple repetition (generally, we can hold only
five to nine units of information in short-term memory). 4 The problem
requires that we store the words in long-term memory for which such
strategies as simple repetition are not as effective as those involving
categorization or the construction of stories and images. Similarly, the
latter strategies are effective only for certain types of memory problems.
The remainder of our discussion of memory is organized into three
sections. The first concerns the processes of human memory, an under-
standing of which can help you remember more effectively. We will
show, for example, the although attention is a prerequisite for remem-
bering, it does not guarantee it. The second section explores ·some strat-
egies for remembering that have been devised over the centuries. By
using these strategies, people often find that they can solve memory
problems they had assumed were too difficult for them. In the final
section we discuss the importance of adapting memory strategies to your
own situation and inventing new ones when necessary.

I Understanding Basic Memor~ Processes

Researchers in cognitive psychology have discovered some basic prin-
ciples of human memory that are very useful in helping people learn to
solve memory problems. We explore three of them: attention, elabora-
tion, and retrieval.

Rttention
Imagine that you are a student and need to learn a great deal of informa-
tion in a short time . You missed several classes, so a friend has tape-
recorded lectures from a history class and an economics class. Since you
are so pressed for time, you design a system that allows you to play the
history lecture into your left ear and the economics lecture into your
11111 RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

right ear at the same time. Will this method allow you to learn twice as
much in the same amount of time?
If you have ever attempted to study when people are interrupting
you, you probably answered no to this question. It is very difficult to
attend carefully to more than one source of information at a time, espe-
cially if both messages contain information that is unfamiliar. 5

Attending to the Right Information

Even when we hear or read only a single message, we can easily miss
some of the information. Read the following passage once:

Many foods cost too much. Food costs would diminish if farm land was
not so costly. In addition, tractors and additional tools cost way too
much. Politicians should also diminish any tax on farm products. A high
tax on such products hurts us all.

Now try to remember as much about this passage as you can without
looking back. If you studied the passage, the chances are quite good that
you can easily recall its main points. However, without looking back at
the passage, suppose you have l 0 seconds to answer a different question:
"How many words in the passage contain the letter e?" You might be able
to estimate the number of e's by recalling the words and checking each
one, but this will take a considerable amount of time and you will prob-
ably make mistakes. Although most passages of this length include a
considerable number of e's, this one does not. (You may have noted that
the wording was a little strange; that's because it only used words that do
not contain an e).
You would have been able to answer the question about the num-
ber of e's in the passage much more easily if you had known about it
beforehand. You would then have know to focus your attention on this
problem as you read. Had you done so, however, chances are you would
have missed something about the meaning of the passage. Even in a
passage this simple, there is more to attend to than we can process in a
single trial. It is important to define your memory goals ahead of time so
you can attend to the relevant information. 6

Elaboration Processes
The preceding discussion illustrates the importance of attending to infor-
mation that is relevant to your memory goal. Researchers have also
 Improving Memorij Skills liB

found that memory is affected by our ability to relate new information to

previous experience and knowledge. This is known as "elaboration." An
example of how elaboration can facilitate remembering was presented at
the beginning of this chapter; it involved of a father's and son's strategies
for remembering the combination to a lock. The father elaborated on the
information by making it meaningful. To remember the number 13, he
elaborated by relating it to the current age of his son.
In many situations people elaborate information without thinking
about it. For example, consider the following sentence.

John was late for work because of the snow.

Most people will automatically elaborate this sentence by relating it to

experiences they have had traveling to or from work or school during a
snowstorm. Routine elaborations such as these make it easier to under-
stand and remember information, but they also depend on our ability to
relate new information to our own past experiences.
Frequently, however, elaboration requires more conscious effort.
especially when the relationship between the new information and pre-
vious experience is not obvious. College students often tell us about
classmates who can sit through a lecture without taking notes and re-
member almost everything. In contrast, they can remember very little,
and they worry that their memory is poor. We try to help these students
understand that remembering information is comparatively effortless or
difficult depending on what one already knows about a topic. If you
know a lot about a topic, it is much easier to elaborate the information
and remember what you hear or read.
Please try the following experiment. Spend no more than 4 seconds
reading each of the sentences listed below, and read each one only once.
Most important, try not to use any elaboration strategies such as generating
images or thinking of people you know.

John walked on the roof.

Bill picked up the egg.

Pete hid the axe.

Jim flew the kite.

Frank flipped the switch.

11m RHodel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

Alfred built a boat.

Sam hit his head on the ceiling.

Adam quit his job.

jay fixed the sail.

Ted wrote the play.

Now try to answer the following questions without looking back at the
preceding sentences.

Who built the boatl

Who picked up the egg?

Who walked on the roof?

Who quit his job?

Who flew the kite?

Who fixed the sail?

Who hit his head on the ceiling?

Who wrote the play?

Who flipped the switch?

Who hid the axe?

Most people have a very difficult time remembering who did what,
despite the fact that each statement is comprehensible. If you really read
these sentences without trying to elaborate them, you could probably
remember only two or three at the most. To remember more of the
sentences you would have to use more sophisticated elaboration strat-
egies, such as thinking of someone you know with a particular name (for
example, a friend named John) and imagining him walking on the roof.
Such sentences become easier to remember if your knowledge base
does much of the work for you. As an illustration, spend approximately
4 seconds reading each of the sentences below. As in the earlier task, do
not attempt to use any sophisticated strategies. Instead, process each sentence as
effortlessly as you can.
 Improving Memorq Skills . .

Santa Claus walked on the roof.

The Easter bunny picked up the egg.

George Washington hid the axe.

Benjamin Franklin flew the kite.

Thomas Edison flipped the switch.

Noah built a boat.

Wilt Chamberlain hit his head on the ceiling.

Richard Nixon quit his job.

Christopher Columbus fixed the sail.

William Shakespeare wrote the play.

Now answer the following questions without looking back at the list.

Who built the boat?

Who picked up the egg?

Who walked on the roof?

Who quit his job?

Who flew the kite?

Who fixed the sail?

Who hit his head on the ceiling?

Who wrote the play?

Who flipped the switch?

Who hid the axe?

Most people can remember this second list of sentences almost ef-
fortlessly. When information is easily related to our knowledge or pre-
vious experience, it is relatively easy to remember. When information is
difficult to relate to previous experience, we need to make use of non-
routine elaboration strategies.
Many people do not automatically use effective elaboration
strategies when they are confronted with information that requires non-
111fJ RModel for Requiring New Knowledge

routine thinking. For example, James Turnure, Nissan Buium, and Mar-
tha Thurlow7 found that retarded children (those with intelligence scores
of around 70) do not elaborate relationships that are difficult to remem-
ber, and consequently their memory performance is much lower than
that of students with higher intelligence test scores. Turnure and his
colleagues noticed dramatic improvements in the memory scores of
retarded children when they were prompted to elaborate confusing
relationships in an effective way. We have found important differences in
the effectiveness of elaboration strategies used by successful and less
successful fifth graders confronted with nonroutine learning tasks. 8

Retrieval Processes
Researchers who study human memory emphasize the difference be-
tween encoding or storing information and accessing or retrieving it later on. 9
You have probably had the experience of trying to remember a person's
name or a certain word and feeling that it was right on the tip of your
tongue. You know from these experiences that retrieval processes are an
important part of remembering.
The following demonstration experiment is designed to illustrate
the importance of retrieval processes. Spend 3 to 5 seconds reading each
of the sentences in the list below, and read through the list only once. As
soon as you finish, remove the list from sight and write down as many of
the sentences as you can. Please begin now.

A brick can be used as a doorstop.

A ladder can be used as a bookshelf.
A wine bottle can be used as a candleholder.
A pan can be used as a drum.
A record can be used to serve potato chips.
A guitar can be used as a canoe paddle.
A leaf can be used as a bookmark.
An orange can be used to play catch.
A newspaper can be used to swat flies.
A TV antenna can be used as a clothes rack.
A sheet can be used as a sail.
 Improving Memorij Skills . . .

A boat can be used as a shelter.

A bathtub can be used as a punch bowl.
A flashlight can be used to hold water.
A rock can be used as a paperweight.
A knife can be used to stir paint.
A pen can be used as an arrow.
A barrel can be used as a chair.
A rug can be used as a bedspread.
A telephone can be used as an alarm clock.
A scissors can be used to cut grass.
A board can be used as a ruler.
A balloon can be used as a pillow.
A shoe can be used to pound nails.
A dime can be used as a screwdriver.
A lampshade can be used as a hat.

Most people are able to recall between l 0 and 16 sentences. However, we

are interested in those that were not recalled. What happened to them?
Did you fail to encode them because of a lapse of attention? Did you
attend to them, yet forget them quickly? Are they actually in memory but
can't be found?
Most people who participate in this experiment are convinced that
they learned more than they can recall. They believe they are simply
unable to find all the information that has been stored. This suggests that
there may be important differences between storing information and
retrieving it later on.
Appropriate retrieval cues can help us find stored information that
we were not at first able to retrieve. Without looking back at the preced-
ing list of sentences, read the potential retrieval cues in the list below.
These words are the subjects (the first noun) of the sentences you just
tried to recall. Read each cue and see if it reminds you of a sentence from
the list. Keep track of how many sentences you remember so that you
can compare this number to your first attempt without the help of cues .
Please begin now.
IIIII RHodel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

flashlight lamps hade

sheet shoe

rock guitar

telephone scissors

boat leaf

dime brick

wine bottle knife

board newspaper

pen pan

balloon barrel

ladder rug

record orange

TV antenna bathtub

You should find a substantial increase in the number of remem-

bered sentences. Many people find that cues frequently produce an
"aha!" experience; they are reminded of information that was stored but
not retrieved during the first recall trial. Such experiences suggest that
memory requires not only storage, but also retrieval. Many of the
memory strategies that we discuss later in this chapter are designed to
help you retrieve information that you have learned.

I Strategies tor Remembering

The ancient Greeks invented some powerful strategies for solving many
types of memory problems. 10 One strategy is called the method of loci, or
the use of familiar locations. It requires a familiar sequence of visual
images that can be recalled easily and used as retrieval cues. One such
sequence would be scenes you know from a familiar route, such as one
 Improving Memor~ S~ills II&WI

through your house (for example, through the front door, to various
places in the living room, and into the kitchen) .
Here's how to use the scene you have imagined. Basically, you need
to ( 1) form an image of each object to be remembered, and (2) place it in
your imagined scene. Thus, if the first object is "horse," you might im-
agine it jumping through the front door of your house. If the second
object is "rocket," you might imagine a huge rocket in the second location
you come to in the living room (such as the couch) . Ideally, the visual
scene you use should have as many locations as there are objects to
remember, and you should proceed through your scene in a natural
order that is easy to remember. In addition, it can be helpful to form
images that have vivid and unique interactions.
Below is a list of 10 words for you to attempt to remember by using
the method of loci. Spend enough time on each word to form an image
of it and of its place in a scene that is vivid and unique.

carrot trumpet

moose pillow

helicopter scissors

Indian goat

chicken cherry

Without looking back at the list, try to recall the words in the order in
which they occurred by using the retrieval cues in your familiar path.
Now try to recall them in reverse order. This can be done easily by
reversing the direction in which you move through your imaginary
scene.
For another memory problem, recall as quickly as possible the fifth
word from the preceding list, then the third, then the seventh, and so
forth. Although it is possible to use the method of loci to achieve this goal,
it would be very cumbersome and time-consuming to walk through all
the scenes while counting them. A much better strategy for solving this
type of memory problem is to use images indexed to a numerical code.
The peg-word system is one such strategy. In the peg-word system we
form associated images using objects that rhyme with numbers. For ex-
ample, try forming interactive images of the objects in the peg-word
IIIII HModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

scheme below combined with those in the previous word list (imagine
the first word, carrot, in a bun, for example, and the second word, moose,
with a shoe on its antlers) .

One is a bun Six is a stick

Two is a shoe Seven is heaven

Three is a tree Eight is a gate

Four is a door Nine is a dime

Five is a hive Ten is a hen

With the peg-word system, you should be able to recall any num-
bered item in a list by using the number as a cue to retrieve the word and
images that were paired with it. Of course, this strategy requires that you
become familiar with the peg-word scheme so that the images can be
retrieved easily.

Interactive Imager~
The key feature of both the method of loci and the peg-word system is
the creation of images that link something you want to learn with some-
thing you already know. Interactive imagery strategies have been studied
by a number of researchers and have been found to work extremely well
for most people.
We have devised a demonstration experiment to illustrate the role
of interactive imagery in memory. Please follow the instructions accu-
rately, otherwise the demonstration will not work. Sixteen pairs of words
are listed below. Simply read each word pair as you go through the list; try to
do nothing more (spend approximately 4 seconds per pair). Please begin now.

clock sheep

telephone dog

cloud ring

rabbit shovel
 Improving Memor~ Skills . .

bear ice cube

fox lamp

tree radio

pencil cloud

book fence

stove owl

mountain egg

robin flute

tent movie

key snake

snow elephant

rock baby

In the list below is the first half of each of the 16 pairs of words you just
read. When you read each word, try to think of the. word that went with
it, but do not look back at the previous list. Keep track of the number of
times you are successful.

rabbit stove

book bear

mountain pencil

rock tent

telephone key

robin clock

cloud tree

snow fox
liB RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

Most people find it very difficult to remember which words go

together. Note that the instructions were simply to read each word pair
and nothing more. If you found that most of the words above called to
mind the other half of the pair, chances are you used strategies similar to
those discussed below. 11
The following experiment is designed to illustrate the power of
interactive imagery in remembering. As in the last experiment, you will
see 16 pairs of words. This time, however, do not simply read each word
as you proceed through the list. Instead, try to generate a vivid image that
relates the two words in each pair. (For example, if the word pair were
chicken-flag, you could imagine a chicken holding a flag in its mouth.)

newspaper arrow fork ball

bathtub whale rain tuba

deer roller skates apple magazine

rope football cup yardstick

cake lawn mower cigar piano

worm house taxicab flower

fan gun hat lion

shark peach bus spear

The list below contains the first word from each of the pairs above.
Keep track of the number of times these words enable you to remember
the second member of each pair. Most people find that their performance
with this list is much better than their performance with the first list
(unless, of course, they cheated earlier and used a strategy that integrated
the pairs of words). 12

rain worm

gar fan

cake fork
 Improving Memorq Skills a.
shark apple

deer hat

newspaper rope

bathtub bus

cup taxicab

Remembering Faces and Names

A problem faced by many people is an inability to remember the names
of new acquaintances. One solution to this problem is to use a strategy
known as the image-name technique, which is similar to the imagery
strategy discussed above. 13
The image-name technique establishes a link between a unique
feature of an individual's face and a feature of his or her name. First you
need to examine a person's features and try to identify those that most
distinguish his or her face from other faces. For example, identify the
unique features of the face in J;'igure 19 and make up a word or phrase
that helps you remember the unique features . Use the letters in the word
or use the first letter of each word in the phrase to remind you of a facial
feature. When you are finished, turn the page and see if you can select
that face from the others in Figure 20.

Figure 19 Try to remember this face.

.:D RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

Rgure 20 Try to identify the face that you saw earlier.

This strategy should help you distinguish similar faces from one
another (which can be important if you witness a crime, for example),
but it will not necessarily help you remember the name that goes with
each face. To remember names, identify a facial feature that you can
associate with the person's name or with the syllables of the name. The
picture in Figure 21 provides an illustration of how this correspondence
can be developed.
If you practice the image-name strategy (faces and names are pro-
vided at the end of this chapter) you should become able to learn names
quite effectively. This strategy can also be used for other purposes. For
example, waiters and waitresses can use it to remember what customers
order, and salespersons can use it to remember the family background
and interests of the clients they serve.
 Improving Memorq Skills . .

Rgure21 Remembering names and faces . Distinctive facial features might in-
clude the beard and the glasses. Distinctive relationships between the facial
features and the name (Bart Stein) might include letting "beard" remind
you of a bar (for Bart) and "glasses" remind you of beer glasses, called
steins (for Stein) .

Harry Lorayne describes a variation of the image-name technique

that may be more effective in certain situations. He recommends forming
a collection of picture equivalents for common names that can be called
upon when needed. Some picture equivalents for common names are
listed below. For this strategy to be effective, you would need to expand
the collection to include many more common names. You might even
want to include picture equivalents for surnames and titles if that is
information you often need to remember. Each picture equivalent should
be associated in some way with the name. 14

Ann ant

Bonnie bony

Rosita rose eater

Sherry cherry

Adam atom bomb

Bill dollar bill

Tom tom cat

IBD nModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

When you meet someone with a name for which you have a picture
equivalent, you can form an interactive image that relates a distinctive
visual feature of the person to your picture equivalent. For example, if
you meet a woman with a prominent forehead named Bonnie, you could
form an image of bone protruding from her forehead . As you become
more familiar with your picture equivalents, it will require less and less
effort to form these interactive images.

Rcronqms and Rcrostics

A powerful strategy for facilitating memory is the creation of acronyms.
These are especially useful for retrieving information that you have en-
coded and stored. Assume, for example, that you want to remember the
component processes involved in problem solving that were discussed in
Chapter 2. An excellent way to do this is to think of the acronym IDEAL,
which can serve as a retrieval cue for information about the individual
components (identify, define, explore, anticipate/act, and look/learn).
Effective learners often create their own acronyms to remember informa-
tion they need to know. For example, to remember the three major
sections of this chapter, you might create the acronym USA, for under-
standing basic memory processes, strategies for remembering, and adapta-
tions and inventions of memory strategies.
Some acronyms have become so widely accepted that they are used
in place of the words they represent (an example is radar, which stands
for radio detecting and ranging). The use of acronyms is similar to the
practice of forming abbreviations for complex or specialized terms or
names. DNA, RNA, and IQ are examples. It is very common for experts
to invent a shared language or mental shorthand by means of acronyms
and abbreviations. This can facilitate communication between experts
but make it difficult for those outside the field to understand. In contrast,
business leaders often use acronyms and abbreviations to help consumers
remember their names or obtain their services. Some examples are

IBM
3-M
Dial 526-FILM for theater information

A related strategy for remembering important terms is to think of a

short phrase comprising words whose initial letters represent the infor-
 Improving Memorq Skills I&DI

mation to be remembered. For example, to remember the notes of the G

clef, it is helpful to use the phrase "Every good boy does fine." Such
phrases are called acrostics. Both acrostics and acronyms can be effective
tools because they substitute easily remembered words or phrases for
more complex and unrelated concepts; in short, they substitute an easier
memory task for a more difficult one. These strategies work as long as the
letters function effectively as retrieval cues. However, they may not be
very effective for remembering unfamiliar words or concepts. For ex-
ample, most people would not find the word "bunt" to be a good
acronym for the names Baum, Ulpa, Nidia, and Treim, because the names
themselves are so unfamiliar. Similarly, an acrostic would be ineffective if
it were too complex to be remembered.

I Adapting and Inventing Memor~ Strategies

So far in this chapter we have focused on analyzing basic memory proces-
ses and giving examples of powerful memory strategies. This will provide
the foundation for improving your ability to invent your own ways to
solve memory problems. Invention is important because a particular
strategy may or may not be optimal depending on how much you already
know about what is to be remembered and your specific goals. The more
inventive you can be, the better your memory will become.
Because the effectiveness of memory strategies varies as a function
of goals and personal knowledge and experience, it is important to learn
to invent strategies that suit your purposes. Thus, depending on the
situation, you might invent acronyms and acrostics or special rhymes and
rules . Assume, for example, that you want to remember whether the
head of a school is a principle or a principal. You could create a memory
aid, such as "The head of the school should be a pal."

Examples of Memor~ Problems

Listed below are some common memory problems. Try to invent techni-
ques for solving them. Possible answers (your own might be better) are
provided in Appendix A.

In accounting, people must learn that t he left column is used for enteri ng
debits and the right column is used for entering credits. D evise a scheme
for remembering which is w hich.
11m AHodel tor Acquiring New Hnowledge

People who spend a lot of time in the woods (hikers, campers, and
hunters) need to know which kinds of snakes are poisonous and which
are not. In general, snakes that have adjacent red and black stripes have
no poison whereas those that have adjacent red and yellow stripes do.
Devise a memory scheme that will help people remember which type of
snake is which.

In boating, the term "port" is used for left and "starboard" for right.
Devise a way to remember these facts .

The combination of a new lock is I I-S- 14. Devise a memory strategy

that will help you remember it.

In each of the problems presented above, the amount of informa-

tion that needs to be remembered is rather small. What is difficult about
each one is that it is easy to confuse one thing with another (for example,
to confuse "port" with right rather than left). The ability to reduce this
kind of confusion is an important criterion for any memory technique's
effectiveness.

Strategies for External Storage

A powerful strategy for enhancing memory is to store information exter-
nally (on paper) rather than to attempt to remember it directly. This may
seem obvious, but even here there is considerable room for invention.
Different ways of organizing information affect the ease of performing a
task.
Imagine that you write a grocery list containing 15 items, such as
milk, cereal, apples, and dog food. Once you get to the grocery store there
are several ways you might use this list. One is to get the first item on
your list, then the second, and so forth. However, if the items are not
organized according to the sections in your grocery store, you will be
forced to make a number of trips back and forth throughout the store.
Another way to use the grocery list is to walk to one section of the
store (the dairy section, for example) and scan your list for all items that
may be found there. Next, walk to another section of the store (pet foods)
and scan your list again. This is more efficient than walking back and
forth across the store, but unless your list is organized in a way that fits
the organization of your grocery store, it is still not optimal.
Storing information in a way that enables us to obtain easy access to
relevant information is especially important when the amount of infor-
 Improving Memorq Skills IBJI

mation stored is large. Consider a phone book for a large city. The infor-
mation it contains is organized in a way that makes it relatively easy to
find a phone number or street address if you know the person's name. It
also makes it easy to determine the number of people in that city who
have the same last name. However, imagine that you want to know the
phone numbers of all the people who live on 21st Avenue or in the
eastern part of the city. You would have to search through every entry in
the phone book to find this information. Needless to say, this would be a
tedious procedure.
In many situations externally stored information (a data base) needs
to be searched from a variety of perspectives. If you run a business, for
example, you may want to call or send announcements to everyone who
lives in the area where it is located. Or you may want to send mailings
only to those whose income is over a certain amount, or only to those
who have visited your store during the past year. Similarly, if you are
taking notes on articles and books, you may sometimes want to refer only
to those by certain authors or about particular topics. As the example of
the phone book indicates, it can be very difficult to store information in
ways that permit easy access to such categories.
Fortunately, modern computer technology is making it possible to
gain access to data bases using a variety of search categories. For example,
computerized data bases in libraries can allow you to search for articles
on the basis of information about the author, title, date of publication,
subjects covered, and key words used in the article. A computerized data
base of cookbook recipes might allow you to search for recipes on the
basis of title, important ingredients, country of origin, or nutritional
value. Computers therefore provide a powerful means of enhancing
memory. Even with computers, however, you must choose the format for
representing and retrieving information that is most appropriate to your
needs. Since the computer's ability to search for information depends on
how data bases are organized and how you query them, your ingenuity
will have important effects on what the computer can do.

I Summar~
In this chapter, our discussion emphasized the relationship between
remembering and problem solving. People who are good at remembering
information develop effective problem-solving skills. First, they are able
to identify situations that may cause memory difficulties ("This is too
much information to hold in short-term memory" or "If I am not careful
1111 HModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

I will get confused and forget whether port means right or left") . Second,
they define their goals appropriately ("I want to remember whether star-
board refers to the right or left") . Third, they explore a variety of strategies
and select those that are appropriate to their goals. Fourth, they an-
ticipate the effects of different strategies and act on those that are most
promising. Fifth, they look at the effects of particular strategies on perfor-
mance (that is, on their ability to remember) and consider how to ap-
proach future memory problems. If their performance has been poor,
they reenter the IDEAL cycle and may redefine their goals or select or
invent different strategies. They then act on these new strategies and look
at the effects, continuing to improve their memory skills.
It is important to understand the relationship between strategy se-
lection and how we define our memory goals. First, particular strategies
(simple repetition or categorization, for example) are appropriate for
some goals but not for others. Second, it can be useful to examine some
of the basic research on memory. For instance, researchers find that it is
difficult to attend to multiple sources of information, and even with only
one source we must still decide what aspects of that information are
important. Elaboration also plays an important role in remembering in-
formation. While elaboration may be relatively effortless in some situa-
tions, it can require a great deal of effort in others. Another research
finding is that storage of information does not guarantee its retrieval, and
the selection and evaluation of strategies must take into account the
nature of the retrieval environment. If no retrieval cues are going to be
provided, for example, you need to generate a retrieval scheme of your
own. In addition, the probability that particular retrieval cues will be
effective can be increased (by forming interactive images, for example).
Finally, the improvement of memory skills is an ongoing process. A major
challenge is to become skilled at inventing new memory techniques for
solving problems that you may confront in everyday life.

I Exercises
1. Carefully read the passage below once, then turn to Appendix
B and answer the questions about it.

You are the driver of a bus that can hold a total of 72 pas-
sengers (there are 36 seats that can each hold 2 passengers).
At the first stop, 7 people get on the bus. At the next stop, 3
 Improving Memor~ Skills Bill

people get off and 5 get on. At the next stop, 4 people get off
and 2 get on. During each of the next two stops, 3 passengers
get off and 2 get on. At the next stop, 5 passengers get off and
7 get on. When the bus arrives at the next-to-the-last stop, 2
people get on and 5 get off.

Develop acronyms or other techniques for remembering the following.

2. The order of the cranial nerves is olfactory, optic, oculomotor,

trochlear, trigeminal, abducens, facial, auditory, glossopharyn-
geal, vagus, spinal-accessory, and hypoglossal.
3. You should set the clock one hour ahead in the spring and
one hour back in the fall (for daylight savings time).

Devise strategies for remembering the following.

4. The combination to your new lock is 22-4-9.

5. Balsam fir trees have smooth twigs; eastern hemlocks have
rough twigs.

Devise a strategy to help you remember the correct spelling of each word
below.

Correct spelling Common misspelling

6. across accross
7. facilitate facillitate
8. development developement

Devise a technique for remembering the facts associated with each of the
following names.

9. Edmund Hillary First to climb Mount Everest

10. Hubert Booth Invented the vacuum cleaner
11. John Sculley Chairman of Apple Computer
Corp .
.:11 RModel for Requiring NewHnowledge

Devise a strategy to remember the name associated with each face below.

12. Harriet Eisely

13. Lynn Foreman

14. Rose Lipman

15. Devise a strategy to help you remember that dromedary

camels have one hump and Bactrian camels have two humps.
16. Devise a strategy to help you remember that polygyny refers
to the practice of having more than one wife at a time and
that polyandry refers to the practice of having more than one
husband at a time.
17. Many types of computer programs (word processors, spread-
sheets) allow you to build simple keystroke commands
(CTRL-A) that execute complex functions. These simple
keystroke commands are called macros. If you use a program
 Improving Memorij Skills IIJ:DI

that allows you to build macros, try to construct a set of easily

remembered keystrokes to execute the functions that you fre-
quently use in the program.

I Notes
l. F. Bacon, Novum organum. First book, Aphorism 2, 1620.
2. Studies of the effectiveness of various types of memory strategies
include G. H. Bower and M. C. Clark, Narrative stories as
mediators for serial learning. Psychonomic Sdence 14 (1969):181-
182; F. L. M. Craik and R. S. Lockhart, Levels of processing: A
framework for memory research. Journal of Verbal Learning and Ver-
bal Behavior 11 (1972):671-684; F. L. M. Craik and M. J. Watkins,
The role of rehearsal in short-term memory, Journal of Verbal Learn-
ing and Verbal Behavior 12 (1973):599-607; T. S. Hyde and J. J.
Jenkins, Differential effects of incidental tasks on the organization
of recall of a list of highly associated words, Journal of Experimental
Psychology 82 (1969): 472-481; D. Rundus and R. C. Atkinson, Re-
hearsal processes in free recall: A procedure for direct observation.
Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 9 ( 1970):99-1 OS; M .
A. McDaniel and G. 0. Einstein, Bizarre imagery as an effective
memory aid: The importance of distinctiveness . Journal of Ex-
perimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 12 ( 1986): 54-
65 .
3. T. J. Keeney, S. R. Cannizzo, and J. H. Flavell, Spontaneous and in-
duced verbal rehearsal in a recall task. Child Development 38
( 1967):953-966.
4. G. A. Miller, The magical number seven plus or minus two: Some
limits on our capacity for processing information. Psychological
Review 63 (1956) :81-97.
5. Research and theories dealing with attention are discussed by D.
Kahneman, Attention and Effort. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice
Hall, 1973; D. L. LaBerge, Attention. Psychological Sdence 1
(1990):156-162.
6. Studies illustrating how particular strategies may or may not be ef-
fective depending on the testing context include C. D. Morris, J.D.
Bransford, and J. J. Franks, Levels of processing versus transfer ap-
propriate processing. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior
16 ( 1977):519- 533 . H. L. Roediger, Implicit memory: Retention
without remembering. American Psychologist45 (1990):1043-1056;
liD RModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

B. S. Stein, Depth of processing re -examined: The effects of

precision of encoding and test appropriateness. Journal of Verbal
Learning and Verbal Behavior 17 (1978) :165-174.
7. J. E. Turnure, N. Buium, and M. L. Thurlow, The effectiveness of
interrogatives for prompting verbal elaboration productivity in
young children. Child Development 47 ( 1976):851-855.
8. B. S. Stein, J. D. Bransford, J. J. Franks, R. A. Owings, N. J. Vye,
and W. McGraw. Differences in the precision of self-generated
elaborations, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General1l, no. 1
(1982) :390-398.
9. E. Tulving, Cue-dependent forgetting. American Sdentist 62
(1974) :74-82.
10. F. Yates, The Art of Memory . London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1966.
11. M. A. McDaniel and G. 0 . Einstein, Bizarre imagery as an effective
memory aid: The importance of distinctiveness . Journal of
Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 12
(1986):54-65.
12. R. R. Hunt and M. Marschark, Yet another picture of imagery: The
roles of shared and distinctive information in memory. In M. A.
McDaniel and M. Pressley (eds.), Imagery and Related Mnemonic
Processes. New York: Springer-Verlag, 1987; B. S. Stein, The effects
of cue-target uniqueness on cued recall performance. Memory and
Cognition 5 (1977) :319-322.
13. Strategies for linking faces and names are discussed inK. L. Hig-
bee, Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It. Englewood
Cliffs, N.J. : Prentice-Hall, 1977; H. Lorayne and J. Lucas, The
Memory Book. New York: Ballantine, 1974.
14. H. Lorayne, Remembering People: The Key to Success. New York: Stein
& Day Publishers, 1975.

I Suggested Readings
Practicallq Oriented Readings
Bellezza, F. S. 1982. Improve Your Memory Skills. Englewood Cliffs, N.J. :
Prentice-Hall.
Bower, G. H. 1970. Analysis of a mnemonic device. American Scientist,
58:496-510.
Cermak, L. S. 1976. Improving Your Memory. New York: McGraw-Hill.
 Improving Memor~ Shills IIIDI

Higbee, K. L. 1977. Your Memory: How It Works and How to Improve It.
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
Lorayne, H., and J. Lucas. 1974. The Memory Book. New York: Ballantine.
Luria, A. R. 1968. The Mind of a Mnemonist. New York: Basic Books.

Theoreticallij Oriented Readings

Ellis, H. C., and R. R. Hunt. 1989. Fundamentals of Human Memory and
Cognition (4th ed.). Dubuque, Iowa: W. C. Brown.
Klatzky, R. L. Human Memory: Structure and Process (2d ed.). 1980. San
Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
McDaniel, M. A., and M. Pressley (eds.). 1987. Imagery and Related
Mnemonic Processes. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Matlin, M. W. 1989. Cognition (2d ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and
Winston.
Neisser, U. 1982. Memory Observed: Remembering in Natural Contexts. San
Francisco: W. H. Freeman.
Neisser, U., and E. Winograd (eds.). 1988. Remembering Reconsidered:
Ecological and Traditional Approaches to the Study of Memory. New York:
Cambridge University Press.
Reed, S. K. 1992. Cognition (3d ed.). Pacific Grove, Calif.: Brooks Cole.
Roediger, H. L., and F. I. M. Craik (eds.). 1989. Varieties of Memory and
Consciousness: Essays in Honour of Endel Tulving. Hillsdale, N.J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Zechmeister, E. G., and S. E. Nyberg. 1982. Human Memory: An Introduc-
tion to Research and Theory. Monterey, Calif: Brooks Cole.
 LEARNING 'NITH
UNDERSTANDING

Education is the acquisition of the art of the utilisation of knowledge.

Alfred North Whitehead 1

In Chapter 6 we discussed strategies for remembering information. The

effective use of memory strategies will enable you to remember impor-
tant information, such as a person's name, when you are confronted with
a particular retrieval cue, such as that person's face. However, suppose
your goal in learning is not simply to remember information but to
understand it so that you can apply it in creative ways to the solution of
problems that arise in the future. There are important differences be-
tween remembering information and understanding how to use it to
solve novel problems.
As an illustration of the difference between remembering and un-
derstanding, consider a friend of ours who discovered that he had an
allergy to milk products and was given a pill by his doctor to help him
digest milk. The doctor told him to take the pill 30 minutes before eating
a meal. The statement "Take the pill 30 minutes before eating" was easy
for our friend to remember. However, one day he encountered an unan-
ticipated problem: He had just finished a meal that included milk
products and suddenly realized that he had forgotten to take his pill. His
goal was to decide what to do. Would it do him any good to take the pill
now, or should he cancel his next appointment in anticipation of a reac-
tion to the milk? Might it actually be harmful to take the pill after eating?
Our friend could not answer these questions for himself, because he had
11m RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

no understanding of the relationship among milk products, his digestive

system, and the pill provided by the doctor. He had remembered a proce-
dure (to take the pill 30 minutes before eating), but he did not under-
stand enough about how the pill worked to solve his problems. Without
understanding, it can be difficult to solve unanticipated problems.
Our friend's dilemma illustrates important differences between un-
derstanding a situation and simply memorizing information about it.
Strategies that improve memory without helping us to understand can
create what Alfred North Whitehead 2 called "inert knowledge." He used
the term to refer to information that a person is able to recall when
explicitly asked to do so, but that he or she is not able to apply spon-
taneously to the solution of problems. A goal of this chapter is to show
that comprehending new information-learning with understanding-is
different from merely memorizing that information. The strategies neces-
sary to solve comprehension problems differ from those necessary for memoriza-
tion. We begin by showing how comprehension involves problem solving
and how the goal of understanding differs from the goal of simply
remembering.

I Comprehension as Problem Solving

To illustrate how comprehension involves problem solving, read the pas-
sage below. 3

Sally let loose a team of gophers. The plan backfired when a dog chased
them away. She then threw a party but the guests failed to bring their
motorcycles. Furthermore, her stereo system was not loud enough. Sally
spent the next day looking for a "Peeping Tom" but was unable to find
one in the yellow pages. Obscene phone calls gave her some hope until
the number was changed. It was the installation of blinking neon lights
across the street that finally did the trick. Sally framed the ad from the
classified section and now has it hanging on her wall.

Most people have difficulty comprehending this passage. They under-

stand each word and each sentence alone, but something seems to be
missing. They cannot find an explanation for why Sally is doing what she
is doing and how one sentence in the story leads into the next one.
After identifying the existence of a comprehension problem, some
readers may feel that the passage is gibberish and define their goal as not
 ~earning With Understanding liB

wasting time on such nonsense. Other readers may approach the prob-
lem differently. For instance, they may conjecture that the passage pre-
supposes some information not available to them that might be available
to someone more familiar with Sally. Consequently, they may define their
goal as trying to find the presupposed information. These readers may
then explore various strategies for solution. For example, they may think
of possible reasons for Sally's activities (maybe she's in love with some-
body), anticipate possible outcomes, and act on the strategy that seems
most likely to help them understand the passage . Then they can look at
the effects. If their initial hypothesis doesn't work, they can generate and
test alternative hypotheses . They may move through the IDEAL cycle a
number of times.
Now imagine that you are going to be tested on the Sally passage .
Many students might assume that their goal is simply to remember the
information in the passage, and they will explore strategies appropriate to
that goal. You could undoubtedly memorize all the sentences by using
one of the strategies discussed in the previous chapter (for example,
interactive imagery). But consider what would happen if you were asked
the following questions:

I. Where did Sally put the gophers?

2. Why did Sally want the guests to bring motorcycles?
3. Whose number was changed?
4. Who probably made the calls?
5. What did the advertisement say?

If you failed to understand the passage about Sally and simply memorized
it, you would find it very difficult to answer such questions.
The passage becomes much more comprehensible when you can
formulate an explanation for Sally's actions. Assume, therefore, that
Sally is trying to get a neighbor to move. Given this information, read the
passage again and try to answer the questions posed above.
The Sally passage illustrates two points. First, comprehension invol-
ves a problem- solving process. Second, understanding often requires
more than the simple memorizing of information (see Figure 22). The
ability to remember all the sentences in the Sally passage does not guar-
antee your ability to do other things with the information, such as make
intelligent inferences. When we learn with understanding, we are able to
apply information to a broader range of tasks than when information is
simply memorized.
11m AModel for Acquiring New Hnowledge

Learning with
Memorization
understanding

Explore Explore
memory strategies understanding
strategies

Figure 22

Comprehension and Inferences

The passage about Sally illustrates how comprehension can depend on
additional knowledge. This seems to be the case in all instances of com-
prehension; people are often surprised to learn how much they make use
of previously acquired knowledge in order to comprehend. Consider the
following passage. 4
A thirsty ant went to a river. He became carried away by the rush of the
stream and was about to drown . A dove was sitting in a tree overhanging
the water. The dove plucked a leaf and let it fall. The leaf fell into the
stream close to the ant and the ant climbed onto it. The ant floated safely to
the bank. Shortly afterward, a birdcatcher came and laid a trap in the
tree. The ant saw his plan and stung him on the foot. In pain the
birdcatcher threw down his trap. The noise made the bird fly away.
 Learning With Understanding BfJ1

A number of assumptions are necessary to understand this story.

For example, readers usually assume that the ant walked to the river and
the dove flew to the tree, although this information was never explicitly
stated. Similarly, readers understand that the ant could drown because it
requires oxygen (in contrast, you would not worry about a fish drowning
in a river), that the dove probably plucked the leaf with its beak, and so
forth. Basic information about doves and ants therefore plays an impor-
tant role in the inferences that readers make.
Other inferences must also be made to understand this story. One
involves the characters' goals. For example, most people assume that the
dove plucked the leaf to save the ant, that the birdcatcher's plan was to
·trap the dove, and that the ant bit the birdcatcher to repay the dove for
its previous favor. Note that none of this information is stated in the
story; all of it is generated by the reader. Indeed, the story does not even
state that the ant and the dove saw each other. The author of the passage
did not need to state this information explicitly; it was assumed that
readers would supply it. Communication would be cumbersome if speak-
ers and writers had to provide all the information necessary for compre-
hension. If we lack the relevant background knowledge, however, we
may be unable to make the assumptions necessary to understand what
speakers and writers wish to communicate. 5

Prerequisites to Understanding
In the previous discussion we noted that many of the inferences required
for comprehension draw on relevant background knowledge. In some
situations this background knowledge may involve many complex and
interconnected concepts. Consider the following summary of a talk at a
scientific meeting.

Pete argued that data gathered from a NASA spaceship's voyage to Venus
calls into question current theories about the formation of our solar sys-
tem. Part of his talk emphasized the importance of mass spectrometers.
He then discussed the isotopes of argon 36 and argon 38 and noted that
they were of higher density than expected. He also cited the high values
of neon found in the atmosphere. He has a paper that is already written,
but he is aware of the need for further investigation as well.

Most people who are asked to read this passage could do little more
than memorize it. They simply do not have the background knowledge
_ . HModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

necessary to understand with any depth. As a result, they are unable to

make inferences such as

l. The extent to which high levels of isotopes of argon have any-

thing to do with theories of the formation of the solar system
2. Whether and why high values of neon are significant
3. How these questions relate to the importance of mass
spectrometers

Clearly, the only way to understand the summary of Pete's talk

would be to learn the concepts that underlie the science of astronomy.
But these concepts would have to be learned with understanding rather
than merely memorized. In the next section we explore some of the
processes involved in learning about a new domain.

I ~earning about New Areas of Hnowledge

One of tl}.e best ways to understand the process of learning is to consider
how expertise is acquired in various fields such as mathematics, physics,
biology, and psychology. For example, assume that you know only a little
about biology and that your goal is to learn more. Assume that the
current lesson involves veins and arteries. You might read in a textbook
that arteries are thick and elastic and that they carry blood rich in oxygen
from the heart, blood that is pumped in spurts; veins are thinner and less
elastic and carry blood rich in carbon dioxide back to the heart. For a
novice, even this relatively simple set of facts can seem arbitrary and
confusing. Was it veins or arteries that are thin? Was the thin one or the
thick one elastic? Which one carries carbon dioxide from the heart (or
was it to the heart)?
The problem of arbitrariness can be illustrated in simple sentences
that are comprehensible to nearly everyone. Spend no more than a few
seconds reading each of the following statements about a group of
people. 6

The fat one bought the padlock.

The strong one cleaned the paintbrush.
The cheerful one read the newspaper.
The skinny one purchased the scissors.
The funny one admired the ring.
 Learning With Understanding Ia

The toothless one plugged in the cord.

The barefoot one climbed the steps.
The bald one cut out the coupon.
The sleepy one held the pitcher.
The blind one closed the bag.
The kind one opened the milk.
The poor one entered the museum.

Now try to answer the following questions without looking back at the
preceding sentences.

Which one purchased the scissors?

Which one cut out the coupon?
Which one climbed the steps?
Which one closed the bag?
Which one read the newspaper?
Which one cleaned the paintbrush?
Which one admired the ring?
Which one held the pitcher?
Which one plugged in the cord?
Which one bought the padlock?
Which one entered the museum?
Which one opened the milk?

Most people have a difficult time remembering which person per-

formed which activity. The major reason for this difficulty is that the
relationship between the person and the action performed seems ar-
bitrary; there is no clear reason that a particular person should perform
that particular activity. Novices in the field of biology feel similarly about
the properties of veins and arteries; relationships between these entities
and their properties seem arbitrary. For example, why should arteries
rather than veins be elastic or nonelastic, thick or thin?

Memor~ Strategies
There are several ways to approach the problem of mastering information
that seems arbitrary at first. One is simply to repeat the facts until they are
memorized (artery thick elastic; artery thick elastic). A more efficient
approach is to use memory techniques similar to those discussed in Chap-
ter 6.7 The use of imagery is one technique. That arteries are thick could
llfD AModel for ACQUiring New Hnowledge

be remembered by forming an image of a thick, hollow tube flashing the

word artery. That arteries are elastic could be remembered by imagining
that the tube is suspended by a rubber band that stretches and contracts,
causing the tube to move up and down. You could embellish the image
by having red liquid (blood) and round (like an o) bubbles (oxygen)
pouring out of the tube, and these could be moving away from an image
of a Valentine's Day heart. This composite image could help you to re-
member that arteries are thick and elastic and carry blood rich in oxygen
away from the heart. Another technique would be to use verbal elabora-
tions; for example, "Art(ery) was thick around the middle so he wore
pants with an elastic waistband."

Comprehension Strategies
We noted earlier that the ability to remember information is no guaran-
tee that you will be able to make inferences and use it to solve new
problems. Suppose you learn that arteries are elastic by imagining either
a rubber band holding a tube or thick-waisted Art and his elastic waist-
band. What if you were confronted with the problem of designing an
artificial artery? Would it have to be elastic? What would be the potential
implications of hardening of the arteries? Would this have a serious
impact on people's health? Having used the imaging techniques to re-
member that arteries are elastic, you would have little basis for answering
these questions.
Memory techniques are useful for many purposes, but a very differ-
ent approach is needed to develop an understanding of veins and arteries.
Effective learners attend to facts, but they also try to understand their
significance. For example, the passage stated that arteries are elastic. What
is the significance of elasticity? How does this property relate to the func-
tions that arteries perform? An effective learner might seek out informa-
tion to clarify this relationship. The passage also stated that arteries carry
blood from the heart, blood that is pumped in spurts. This provides one
clue about the significance of elasticity-arteries may need to expand and
contract to accommodate the pumping of blood. An effective learner
might ask why veins do not need to be elastic. Perhaps because veins carry
blood back to the heart, they have less need to accommodate the large
changes in pressure resulting from the heart's pumping of blood in spurts.
Some learners could carry this process a step further, asking why
blood does not flow back to the heart through the arteries. Since there
are arteries in the neck and shoulder regions, arterial blood must flow up
as well as down. The answer to this question might provide an additional
 Learning With Understanding

clue about the significance of elasticity-the expansion and contraction

of arteries might help blood move in a particular direction. Elasticity
might therefore serve as a one-way valve that enables blood to flow
forward but not back. An artificial artery might therefore be equipped
with valves instead of being nonelastic. However, this solution might
work only if the spurts of blood did not cause too much pressure on the
artificial artery.
The passage does not provide information about pressure require-
ments, so a learner would have to look elsewhere for this information.
Note, however, that he or she could identify the need to obtain this
additional information. The effective learner's methods are not unlike
those employed by good detectives or researchers confronting a new
problem. Initial assumptions may ultimately be found to be incorrect, but
the act of seeking clarification is fundamental to the development of
expertise. In contrast, the person who simply concentrates on techniques
for memorizing facts will never know whether there is something more
to be understood.

Rrbitraru Sentences Reconsidered

The importance of searching for information that can clarify the sig-
nificance of facts and relationships can also be illustrated by the set of
sentences about the people and their activities that was presented earlier.
We noted earlier that memory strategies can help us retain important
information. However, these techniques do not help us understand why
each person performs a particular activity.
An alternative approach to the problem is to figure out how each
person might be suited to a particular activity. This is analogous to asking
why certain entities (such as veins or arteries) have the particular struc-
tures and functions they do. The following list of sentences is identical to
the earlier list, except that each contains an elaboration that should help
you explain why it might be appropriate for each person to perform the
activity that he or she does. Read the sentences through once, and then
attempt to answer the questions that follow.

The fat one bought the padlock to place on the refrigerator door.
The strong one cleaned the paintbrush used to paint the barbells.
The cheerful one read the newspaper announcing that he had won the
lottery.
The skinny one purchased the scissors to use when taking in her pants.
The funny one admired the ring that squirted water.
111iJ nModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

The toothless one plugged in the cord to the food blender.

The barefoot one climbed the steps leading to the vat of grapes.
The bald one cut out the coupon for the hair tonic.
The sleepy one held the pitcher containing water for the coffee machine.
The blind one closed the bag after feeding her seeing-eye dog.
The kind one opened the milk to give to the hungry child.
The poor one entered the museum to find shelter from the snowstorm.

Here are the questions:

Which one purchased the scissors?

Which one cut out the coupon?
Which one climbed the steps?
Which one closed the bag?
Which one read the newspaper?
Which one cleaned the paintbrush?
Which one admired the ring?
Which one held the pitcher?
Which one plugged in the cord?
Which one bought the padlock?
Which one entered the museum?
Which one opened the milk?

Most people find it relatively easy to remember who did what given
elaborations that clarify the reason for each activity. These elaborations
must be relevant, however; they must help one understand why each
person performs each activity. Elaborations that make sense and yet are
irrelevant can actually impair memory rather than improve it. Examples
of irrelevant elaborations in this case are the following:

The fat one bought the padlock to place on the garage door.
The strong one cleaned the paintbrush used to paint the chair.
The cheerful one read the newspaper bought at the newsstand.
The skinny one purchased the scissors to use when trimming her nails.
The funny one admired the ring in the jewelry store.

The Importance of Exploring Explanations While Learning

A series of studies that we conducted with several colleagues 8 illustrates
some important differences in the ways students approach the task of
 Learning With Understanding Ifill

learning new information. We created a passage about two imaginary

robots and asked two different groups of fifth-grade students to study
them until they felt that they had learned the information. Both groups
of students could decode words adequately; however, one group was
more successful academically than the other.
Here is one of the passages that we presented to the children. Im-
agine that your goal is to understand why each robot has the particular
features that it does. Pay attention to the learning strategies you use to
achieve this goal.

Bill's father worked for a company that made robots. His company made
robots for a business that washed outside windows. They needed two
kinds of robots. One kind of robot was needed to wash windows in two-
story houses. These windows were small. The other kind of robot was
needed to wash the outside of windows of high-rise office buildings.
These windows were big.

Billy went to visit his father at work. He saw the new robots that his
father had made. The robot used for houses was called an extendible
robot. It could extend itself so it would be almost as tall as a two-story
house. Billy saw that this robot had spikes instead of feet. It had legs that
did not bend. Its stomach could extend in length to make it taller. The
arms on the robot were short. Instead of hands, it had a small sponges. In
its head was a nozzle attached to a hose. Billy also saw that the exten-
dible robot was made of heavy steel. It had an electric cord that could be
plugged in. The robot also had a ladder on its back.

Billy then saw another robot called a nonextendible robot. This robot
had suction cups instead of feet. It had legs that could bend. Its stomach
was padded. The arms on the robot were long. Instead of hands, it had
large sponges. In its head was a bucket. Billy also saw that the nonexten-
dible robot was made of light aluminum. There was a battery inside the
robot. The robot also had a parachute on its back.

Did you find yourself attempting to understand why each robot has
its particular features? For example, did you try to explain why the
window-climbing robot might have a battery and the extendible robot an
electrical cord? If so, you approached this passage in a manner similar to
that of the academically successful students who participated in our
llfB RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

study. Here is one fifth grader's explanation for why each robot had
particular properties:

You would know that the robot that had to go up on tall buildings to
wash the windows would need to be lighter and not use an extension cord
because it would be too long and might make it fall. It had a parachute
in case it did fall. It also had large sponges because the windows were big.
You 'd also know that the robot used to wash two-story houses was more
heavy and had an extension cord 'cause there are plugs. It would rise up
with its stomach and could spray with the hose that came through its
head. You can't have a hose if you climb real high.
Michelene Chi and her colleagues 9 have also found that successful
students are more likely to explore explanations during the learning
process than are less academically successful students. They examined
the learning strategies that college students used as they encountered
problems in their physics texts. Chi and her colleagues found that suc-
cessful students engaged in a process of explanation; they tried to figure
out why each aspect of the solution was applicable, and they asked
themselves about other problems to which the solution might also be
applicable. As a result, they acquired an understanding that was more
general than a mere memorization of the specific steps involved in a
particular problem would afford.

Further Illustrations of Memor~ Versus Comprehension Strategies

It is useful to consider other examples of strategies for memorizing facts
and relationships versus strategies for understanding the significance of
those facts and relationships. Consider first the pairs of scissors shown in
Figure 23. 10 Imagine that you study them until you can draw each pair
of scissors from memory. This will provide no guarantee that you under-
stand how the physical features of each pair of scissors are related to its
function. Table 2 lists the primary function of each pair of scissors. Given
this information, the particular structure of each pair becomes more
meaningful. Clearly, the relationship between each pair's structure and
function are not arbitrary; for example, the structure of the dressmaker's
shears allows fabric to be cut on a flat surface. The ability to understand
the significance of relationships such as these has a number of potential
benefits. One is that people who understand them are in a better position
to invent a new pair of scissors that would allow them to perform par-
ticular tasks more efficiently. They are certainly better equipped to create
 ~ea r ning With Understanding liB

I&

A B

10
c

Figure23

useful inventions than are those who merely memorize differences in

appearance without understanding the related functions .
As another example of differences between memorization and com-
prehension strategies, imagine reading a text that contains these state-
ments: "The Indians of the Northwest Coast lived in slant-roofed houses
built of cedar plank .... Some California Indian tribes lived in simple
earth -covered or brush shelters .... The Plains Indians lived mainly in
tepees .... " 11 You could undoubtedly create some type of memory aid
that would enable you to remember which Native American tribe had
which type of house, but this is a far cry from understanding the signifi-
cance of the information. To gain the latter, you would need to under-
stand why different tribes chose different types of houses. For example,
you would have to consider how th e style of house was related to the
geographic area in which the tribe lived (the style would undoubtedly be
related to the climate and to the raw materials available for building). The
house type would also be related to lifestyle. For example, tepees are
relatively portable, whereas cedar-plank houses are not.
It is instructive that the preceding text was taken from a story writ-
ten for elementary-school children. To children, the information pre-
sented seems arbitrary; no attempt was made to supply elaborations ex-
plaining why different tribes chose the houses they did. This problem
occurs at all age levels, from elementary school to college. 12 One reason
is that the writers of such texts are usually experts in their particular
fields, whereas the readers are often novices. The texts do not seem
llfll HModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

emnttl
SOME FUNCTIONS FOR THE SCISSORS ILLUSTRATED IN FIGURE 23

Structure Function

A. Dressmaker's shears
Heavy Because of heavy use
One hole larger than other Two or three fingers will fit in larger
hole-allows greater steadiness as
one cuts cloth on flat surface
Blades off-center and aligned Blade can rest on table
with finger-hole edge surface as cloth is cut-again,
greater steadiness

B. Barber's shears
Very sharp To cut thin material; for example,
hair
Pointed Permits blades to snip close to scalp
and to snip very small strands of hair
Hook on finger hole A rest for one finger, which allows
scissors to be supported when held
at various angles-hence, greater
maneuverability

C. Pocket or children's scissors

Blunt ends Scissors can be carried in pocket
without cutting through cloth;
children can handle without poking
themselves or others
Short blades Allow greater control by the gross
motor movements of the child just
learning to cut

D. Nail scissors
Wide and thick at pivot point To withstand pressure from cutting
thick and rigid materials; that is,
nails
Slightly curved blades To cut slightly curved nails
 Learning With Understanding Ifill

Mfiinll
CONTINUED

Structure Function

E. Cuticle scissors
Very sharp blade To cut semielastic materials; for ex-
ample, skin of cuticles
Small curved blades To allow maneuverability necessary
to cut small curved area
Long extension from finger As compensation for short blades,
holes to joint necessary for holding

arbitrary to the writers because they can fill in the gaps. For example,
they already know why arteries are elastic and why various Native Amer-
icans chose certain types of houses. In short, they not only know the
facts, they also understand the significance of those facts. To the novice,
however, the knowledge necessary to fill in the gaps is not available. They
are therefore often forced to resort to memorizing information without
really understanding it.
As you become better able to spot arbitrariness in texts, you will also
be more likely to search other sources or ask questions that can help you
understand what you learn. Remember, though, that the processes nec-
essary to achieve understanding are frequently more complex than those
necessary for memorizing. It is helpful to think again about the ultimate
goal of learning: to develop conceptual tools that make it easier to solve
important problems. Mere memorization of information rarely enables
one to solve new problems later on.

Note -Taking Strategies That Support Understanding

As discussed in the preceding sections, the search for information that
can clarify the significance of facts may take a considerable amount of
time. It can therefore be important to preserve the material we are trying
to master until we are able to explore it more carefully. This requires
effective note taking.
The lack of note-taking skills can hinder learning in a number of
ways. One is the loss of important information, often due to the erron-
1111 RModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

Indians of North America

Northwest Coast Southern California Plains

A /\ ~
Wet

I
Trees

I "\}"- Few trees Buffalo Mobility

and deer needed

Slant Wood Use dirt or brush Tepees

roofs planks for house

Rgure 24 An illustration of lecture notes.

eous belief that the information is too important to forget. Another prob-
lem is that people write down cues that are too vague. For example, if
you wrote down the phrase "Native American houses" but included no-
thing to remind you of its significance, you might have a difficult time
remembering that a passage on this topic was used to illustrate the prob-
lem of arbitrary facts.
An obvious way to overcome these problems is to record all the
information that you will use. Often, however, the exact wording is not
important or there is not enough time to write down the information in
full. In these situations it is necessary to use an abbreviated form of the
information. When making such notes, most people focus on the main
points and incorporate them into a list or outline. Ruth Day has con-
ducted extensive research on note taking and has found that such notes
may provide ineffective retrieval cues for reconstructing underlying rela-
tionships. For example, try using the following outline to reconstruct the
joke to which it refers. 13 (See Appendix A for the joke.)

I. Theater joke
A Good news
I. Balcony
2. Flames reach in several minutes
B. Bad news
I. Theater fire
2. Don't tell

One of the problems with this outline is that it does not remind us
of the order of the parts of the joke or what the punch line is. The method
 ~earning With Understanding Ifill

of abbreviation used is not appropriate to the task. Many other forms of

notes can be used to help us understand and remember information. For
example, diagrams and graphs are often the most precise way to repre-
sent relationships among concepts. The treelike diagraam in Figure 24
represents the information contained in the paragraph about Native
American houses. In some cases illustrations can also help us understand
the significance of facts (see Figure 25) .
The form of notes that works best obviously depends on the mater-
ial to be learned and how it is to be used. The selection of a note-taking
strategy should therefore begin with the identification of an information
retrieval problem and a careful analysis of the use to which the informa-
tion will be put in the future.

I Anticipating Outcomes and Rcting on

Comprehension Strategies
Discussion in the preceding sections assumed that the existence of a
learning problem had been identified and recognized as an opportunity
to acquire new knowledge. We also assumed that the learning goal had

Indians of North America

Northwest Coast Southern California Plains

A /\ ~
Wet

Slant
I
Trees

Wood
I "'::\;l" . -·.:. ,:.
Use dirt or brush'"
Few trees
~ded
Buffalo Mobility

Tepees
roofs
1::::::
planks for house
0
·;·
·-::
·:_.
,t\"

Agure 2S
Slant roofs
~
Brush or adobe houses

Some diagrams that may help people understand the significance

Tepees

of facts.
.m RHodel for Requiring New Hnowledge
been defined as gaining understanding rather than just exercising mem-
ory. We emphasized that learning with understanding requires a set of
strategies different from and often more complex than those required by
mere memorization. As we explore various comprehension strategies it is
important to anticipate their effects.
Many researchers have emphasized how important it is to monitor
the effectiveness of learning strategies. Ann Brown 14 and John Flavell 15
were pioneers in the study of what has come to be called metacognition-
the ability to monitor and regulate one's own learning.
Monitoring the outcome of our attempts to learn depends, to a great
extent, on our ability to anticipate situations in which we will need to use
the new information. Whether a mountain-climbing trip, a speech, or a
test in school is involved, it is important to imagine how you will ul-
timately use the knowledge to decide if you have learned enough to
handle the challenges that you will confront. The clearer your idea of
what you will need to know, the better your ability to assess whether you
are prepared. Some examples are provided below.

Levels of Understanding
Anticipating the effects of learning strategies by imagining future uses for
the knowledge gained is especially important because there are many
levels at which concepts and phenomena can be understood . Knowledge
can be mastered at different levels of precision, and the precision neces-
sary depends on the uses to which the knowledge will be put.
As an illustration of different levels of precision, assume that a
group of people read a passage about veins and arteries, such as the one
described earlier. Some may feel that they have learned enough when
they understand that veins and arteries are parts of the body as opposed
to, say, parts of a car engine. Others may not feel they have learned
enough until they understand that veins and arteries carry blood rather
than serve some other bodily function. Still others may study until they
understand how veins and arteries are similar and different in structure
and function. For example, they may feel it is important to know that
arteries are more elastic than veins and to understand why.
Differences in the precision of one's knowledge may or may not be
important for subsequent performance. Assume, for example, that you
are asked the following multiple-choice question.
 Learning With Understanding -

Arteries are
a. Good to eat
b. A type of insect
c. An important part of the body
d. Sold only at gas stations
e. A kind of tree

One needs to know very little about arteries to answer such a question.
In contrast, consider the following:

Arteries
a. Are more elastic than veins
b. Carry blood that is pumped from the heart
c. Are less elastic than veins
d. Both a and b
e. Both b and c

This question requires a considerable amount of information about art-

eries. However, one may answer such a question correctly yet still fail to
understand why arteries are elastic. As a result, additional questions
might not be answered correctly.
For another illustration of levels of precision, think of how nearly all
adults know the concept "gold," as in gold watch or valuable metal. 16
This understanding is precise enough for many purposes. For example,
most of us can distinguish a gold ring from a silver ring, and we know
what is being referred to when people talk about the price of gold. But
what if you are presented with 100 large rocks. Of these, 99 are fool's
gold and 1 is real gold. You may keep one rock. To solve this problem you
need to have a geologist's technical understanding of gold. Our everyday
idea of gold is precise enough for most purposes, but it is not sufficiently
precise to solve a problem such as distinguishing real gold from fool's
gold.
Finally, imagine a young child who knows only that airports are
places where planes take off and land. 17 In contrast, adults know a great
deal more about airports; for example, that they are places where tickets
can be purchased and where metal detectors are used. Though limited,
the child's knowledge is sufficient for many purposes. For example, the
child should be able to comprehend the statement, "We are going to the
airport because Aunt Jane is coming to visit." However, assume that the
.mJI RModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

child hears the statement, "Ruth decided not to wear her matching silver
earrings, necklace, and belt because she wanted to avoid delays at the
airport." Most adults would assume that Ruth wants to avoid problems
with metal detectors but since the child doesn't have this knowledge, he
or she would have a difficult time understanding Ruth's decision.

Tests ot Understanding
A powerful approach to gauging the adequacy of your current level of
understanding is to devise tests that model or simulate the kinds of
problems that you expect to confront in the future (designing an artificial
artery or explaining the principles of astronomy). Such tests provide the
opportunity to actively apply one's knowledge and, ideally, reveal any
confusions, uncertainties, or gaps in one's understanding. They serve a
function similar to the simulations and tests used by NASA to uncover
possible problems that might be encountered by astronauts on space
missions.
The importance of discovering gaps in our understanding can be
illustrated by reading the paragraph below.

This is a two-player game. Each player is given a deck of cards numbered

0 through 9. The cards are placed face down in front of each player. Each
player turns over the top card of his or her deck. If the sum of the two
cards that are face up equals I0, they are removed from the table. If they
do not equal I0 the player takes back the card, places it back in the deck,
and shuffles it. The winner is the one with no cards left.

We have presented this description to many students with instruc-

tions to either memorize the description or evaluate its usefulness in
teaching addition to young children. We have also asked them to answer
the following questions. Please do so now.

I. Would learning the rules improve your chances of winning?

2. If you played this game 50 times, how many games would you
expect to win?
3. Estimate how long it would take to complete each game.

Despite the fact that most people believe they understand this game,
their answers to these questions suggest otherwise. The correct answers
are no, 0, and forever, respectively. Most people fail to detect inconsisten-
 Learning W
ith Understanding Bill

cies in the rules of the game that would make it impossible to win or end.
This is caused in part by the failure to actively apply the rules to a real
game situation. If you still have not found the inconsistencies in the rules,
try working through an actual game mentally, or try using real cards
(answers appear in Appendix A).
This example illustrates that monitoring the effectiveness of a learn-
ing strategy can involve the active application of ideas to specific situa-
tions. If we know we are able to use a set of rules to play a game, solve a
mathematical problem, or produce a concrete model, then we have ac-
quired a better understanding of our own understanding. In the game
description provided above, instructions that make the game impossible
to win or end were deliberately inserted. In other learning tasks such
inconsistencies are a clear signal either that our level of understanding
is not adequate or that there is something deficient in the material we
are trying to understand. In either case, the detection of inconsistencies
serves as a signal to identify a new problem in our understanding and to
reenter the IDEAL cycle.
In his autobiography, Charles Darwin describes a conversation with
Sedgwick, a geology professor, that dramatically illustrates the impor-
tance of detecting inconsistencies. Darwin was in his early 20s at the
time. One evening Darwin told Sedgwick about a laborer he had met
who had discovered a large tropical shell in an old gravel pit in the
midland counties. Sedgwick immediately responded, "It must have been
thrown away by someone into the pit," adding, "If really embedded there
it would be the greatest misfortune to geology, as it would overthrow all
that we know about the superficial deposits of the Midland Counties."
Sedgwick's remark had a profound effect on Darwin because it sensitized
him to the relationship between theory and data. Because of his theoreti-
cal knowledge, Sedgwick was very sensitive to potential inconsistencies
between theory and data and hence was able to identify potential prob-
lems of interpretation that Darwin had not noticed at all. 18

Anticipating Problem sof Recess

Understanding how people process information can also help you to
better anticipate the adequacy of your current level of learning. In Chap-
ter 6 we noted that there are important differences between storing
information and retrieving (accessing) it later on. It is therefore impor-
tant when gauging your level of preparedness to consider the degree to
which cues are available to help you retrieve the knowledge you will
11m HModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

need. People often fail to solve problems not because they lack the rel-
evant knowledge but because they are unable to gain access to it.
Here is a problem we have given to a number of college students
enrolled in our courses on learning and memory.

Professor X claims that students who have difficulty in school do so be-

cause they have a much higher forgetting rate than do more successful
students. He supports his claim with the following study. A group of
academically successful and less successful fifth graders read a story
during school on Monday. The next day they are all asked to recall as
much of the story as they can. On average, the successful students recall
80 percent of the story correctly; the corresponding score for the less
successful students is 65 percent. Professor X argues that these data
support his claims about forgetting rates. Can you find problems with his
argument?

Many students come up with weak answers to this problem. Some say,
"He studied only fifth graders; maybe it's not true for kids in other
grades." Others state, "You can't prove much by only a single study."
Although these statements have some validity, they miss the crucial flaw
in Professor X's reasoning. He claims to have studied forgetting, yet he
hasn't shown that the less successful students learned as much initially.
Perhaps a lack of attention or of previously acquired knowledge pre-
vented the less successful students from learning as much of the story in
the first place. Without some knowledge of how much was learned (ob-
tained, for example, by giving the children a test right after they hear the
story), one cannot make claims about the rate at which forgetting oc-
curred.
As we have noted, many college students fail to find the crucial flaw
in Professor X's argument. The interesting point is that this failure is not
necessarily caused by a lack of knowledge. We gave students this problem
after they had studied forgetting; lectures had emphasized that forgetting
presupposes that something has been learned in the first place (you
cannot forget something you haven't learned) . The students' failure
therefore stemmed from a failure to access relevant information.
Additional evidence for this is provided by the second part of our
experiment. Approximately 5 minutes after the students had first at-
tempted to solve the problem, we gave it to them a second time. This time
we said, "Remember our earlier discussion of the relationship between
forgetting and previous learning." Given this hint, the majority of the
 ~earning With Understanding liB

students noticed the flaw in Professor X's experiment. Ideally, however,

they should not have had to rely on such hints.
Here is a third example of overreliance on hints or clues. 19 A grad-
uate student we know was studying for a test in statistics. The previous
test had covered a number of chapters on probability theory; the instruc-
tor had provided study sheets for each chapter. The graduate student
found that he could easily solve each of the problem sets provided by the
course instructor, so he was convinced he was ready for the test. At this
point one of us took out a pair of scissors, cut out the test questions from
each problem sheet, and mixed them up. The graduate student could no
longer solve the problems. He had unconsciously been using his know-
ledge of the chapter each problem came from to decide which formula to
apply. When this information was no longer available, he discovered a
problem with the way he had learned the material. He therefore changed
his study strategy, paying much more attention to questions about when
and why particular formulas should be used.20

I ~ooking at the Effects and ~eaning to ~earn

No matter how carefully you try to anticipate the context in which infor-
mation will be needed, you will not always be completely successful. As
a result, you will find yourself unprepared for some emergency or unable
to answer a question. This can have negative consequences, such as a
lower grade in a course or embarrassment at a meeting. The most impor-
tant thing to do in such situations is to try to identify the reason for your
error and to establish a goal that will prevent the same mistake from
happening again. People who program computers use the word debugging
for figuring out why a program they have written won't run (they have
to get the bugs out) . It is important to develop debugging strategies for all
our activities.
Many people adopt strategies that make debugging difficult, if not
impossible. After receiving a relatively poor score on a test, for example,
many students avoid looking at the test in any detail: They try to forget
about an unpleasant experience. Although it is natural to want to avoid
unpleasant situations, this is a surefire way to keep from learning from
one's mistakes.
If you have difficulty with a topic despite having studied, several
debugging strategies can help you define the nature of your problem
more precisely. First, look at the types of questions you were able to
11m RHodel for Requiring New Hnowledge

answer versus those you could not. Did the ones you missed require a
more precise level of understanding than you had acquired? You should
also try to discover where the information necessary to answer the ques-
tions you missed is located. Was it in the text? In your notes? If it was,
you must have overlooked it, perhaps because you failed to realize that it
could be important for solving certain problems. If the relevant informa-
tion was neither in your notes nor in the book, chances are that you need
to work on effective note-taking skills.
Professors and other experts can provide feedback helpful in debug-
ging your learning strategies. To use these sources effectively, however,
you must first attempt to communicate what you have mastered. It is
only then that the expert can evaluate your understanding of the subject
and make suggestions that can be used to modify your learning strategies.
Imagine you meet someone who is an expert in a topic with which
you are having difficulty. You could begin by explaining that you have
been having trouble determining whether you have learned enough.
Explain further that you have studied several topics that seem important
and that you would like help in determining whether your knowledge is
adequate. You can then ask the expert to question you about problems
that beginners should be able to solve. This will allow you to discover
quite quickly whether you are missing information that is crucial. If you
do this for a number of topics, you will also develop an understanding of
the expert's criteria for adequate understanding.
This approach to debugging takes commitment and preparation,
and you must be brave enough to risk making mistakes in front of others.
Nevertheless, it is an efficient and valuable way to learn. Furthermore,
we are confident that most instructors and experts will respect your
motivation and maturity. They know that it is harder to understand than
to memorize, and they respect genuine attempts to understand.

I The IDER~ C~cle and ~ifelong ~earning

The previous discussion emphasized the importance of looking back at
our approach to learning so that we can identify potential problems in
our learning strategies. Indeed, identifying problems in our approach to
learning can create opportunities for improvement that can be applied
throughout life. We can take advantage of these opportunities by re-
entering the IDEAL cycle with the general goal of improving the effec-
tiveness of how we learn. We might discover that we have not defined
our learning goals clearly or that we have selected a level of under-
 ~earning With Understanding -

standing that was inappropriate for the task we had to perform. These
observations will help us recognize the need to pay more attention to our
goals and to how well we anticipate future uses of our knowledge.
Reentering the IDEAL cycle and attempting to debug our ap-
proaches to learning creates opportunities for what many researchers
refer to as learning to learn. Lauren Resnick2 1 emphasizes that everyone
in society must learn to learn and solve a range of problems-not just a
select few. One reason we need lifelong learning skills is that job require-
ments tend to change rapidly. For instance, consider the field of auto
mechanics. It used to be that the knowledge and skills necessary for
success in this area were relatively stable. But today's auto mechanics
need to keep up with rapidly changing technologies, such as advances in
computerized electronic controls. Indeed, the skills required for most
professions will change rapidly as new technologies are integrated into
the workplace. Those who are able to learn new concepts and procedures
will have a better chance of maintaining their jobs or advancing their
careers.

I Summar~
In this chapter we applied the IDEAL framework to the problem of learn-
ing with understanding. The goal of learning with understanding re-
quires different strategies than simple memorization of information. It is
therefore important to carefully define your goals (learning with under-
standing versus simply memorizing) once a learning problem or oppor-
tunity has been identified.
Novices who learn about a new area of knowledge frequently con-
front the problem of how to master facts and relationships that seem
arbitrary. For example, there appears to be no reason that an artery
should be elastic or nonelastic, thick or thin. One approach to the prob-
lem of learning arbitrary relationships is to use such memory techniques
as interactive images. An alternative strategy is to explore why things are
the way they are-to search for relationships between the structure and
function of veins and arteries, between the features of robots and their
intended function, between the shape and materials used in Native
American houses and the environment, and between the shape of scis-
sors and their function .
Strategies for learning with understanding are often more complex
and difficult than those that help us to merely memorize information.
Nev~rtheless, the extra effort is usually worthwhile because concepts that
liB RHodel for Requiring New Hnowledge

are understood can function as conceptual tools that allow us to solve

subsequent problems. Thus, the person who understands why veins and
arteries are constructed as they are is in a much better position to ap-
proach the problem of designing an artificial artery. The mere memoriza-
tion of facts rarely results in useful conceptual tools.
It is also important to antidpate the outcome of using a particular
learning strategy so that we can act on the most effective strategy. One
reason for anticipating the challenges that will confront us is that any-
thing can be learned at different levels of precision. For example, our
understanding of such concepts as airports, gold, or veins and arteries can
vary in precision, and the level of precision necessary will depend on the
goals we have for using that knowledge. Thus, a child may have only a
vague knowledge of airports and yet be able to use this knowledge to
understand the statement, "Aunt Jane is coming so we need to go to the
airport." However, a child who is going to travel alone on commercial
airlines may need a more precise understanding of ticketing, baggage-
checking procedures, and airport security regulations.
There are several ways to improve our ability to anticipate the ef-
fects of our learning strategies. One is to devise self-tests and simulations.
Another is to be sure that our knowledge can be retrieved with limited
external cues.
It is often impossible to accurately anticipate all the problems (test
questions, questions following a talk, and so forth) that we will ulti-
mately face. As a result, we will sometimes be unable to answer ques-
tions, and we will make mistakes. Effective learners try to look back at
their attempts to learn and learn from their mistakes; they develop strat-
egies that enable them to avoid making similar mistakes in the future .
The development of these debugging skills is an important aspect of
learning to learn.

I Exercises
Use the IDEAL Problem Navigation Guide in Appendix C to work
through a nonroutine learning problem that is important to you. Be sure
to clarify whether your goal involves learning with understanding or just
memorization.
 Learning With Understanding llBI
Try to make the sentences below comprehensible.
1. The breakfast was delicious because the thread was sticky.
2. The stream of water stopped because it started raining.
3. The car moved because the coin was bent.
4. The clothes were ruined because the sign vanished.
5. The street was full of potholes because the turning stopped.
6. The home was small because the sun came out.
7. The notes were sour because the seam split.

Listed below are some words that would be relatively easy to memorize.
However, it is more interesting to try to understand them. For example,
the combination "you just me" can be interpreted as "just between you
and me. "
wear
B. thermal
9. sttheory
10. T
0
w
N
11. /r/e/a/d/i/n/g/
12. wheather
13. He's/Himself
knee
14.
lights
15 . Read the following instructions for operating a pencil shar-
pener: "After selecting the proper size of guide hole, turn the
handle clockwise." Evaluate the adequacy of these instruc-
tions for people who have never seen or used a pencil before.
Rewrite the instructions to resolve the deficiencies.
16. Imagine that a child reads the following passage about
camels. "They have special eyelids that can cover their eyes
yet still let in some light. They can close their nose passages.
They have thick hair around their ear openings." What might
you do to help the child understand the significance or
relevance of these facts rather than merely memorize them?
17. How might children's ability to understand the significance of
these facts allow them to better understand other events they
read about?
IDD RHodel for Requiring New Hnowledge

I8. A spy wants to hide a roll of film he has reduced to 1/s inch in
diameter and 21/4 inches long. Looking at his bookshelf, he
notices the two-volume desk-top encyclopedia illustrated
below. Using a drill that is 1/4 inch in diameter, the spy begins
on page I of volume I and drills straight through to the last
page of volume 2. Assume that the cover of each book is 1/4
inch thick and that each book without its cover is I inch
thick. Is the hole long enough to hold the roll of film? How
long is the hole?

""z
~
i
Vol
-
c
>
Vol
I II

I9 . The term "sea breeze" is familiar to most people who sail. It

usually refers to breezes that move from the sea to the land
during the day and from the land to the sea at night. Most
people who are unfamiliar with this term find that it is easy
to be confused about which direction the breeze will move
during the day or night. Explore strategies that will help you
understand this information and compare them with strat-
egies that will only help you to remember it.

I Notes
I. A. N. Whitehead, The Aims of Education & Other Essays. New York:
Macmillan, I929.
 Learning W
ith Understanding IBJII

2. See note 1.
3. This passage was adapted from one that was written originally by
Nancy McCarrell.
4. This passage is from J. R. Mehan, Tale-spin, an interactive program
that writes stories. Proceedings from the Fifth International Joint Con-
ference on Artificial Intelligence, 1977, pp. 91-98.
5. Additional discussion of the importance of previously acquired
knowledge for learning can be found in J.D. Bransford and M. K.
Johnson, Contextual prerequisites for understanding: Some inves-
tigations of comprehension and recall. Journal of Verbal Learning
and Verbal Behavior ll (1972):717-726; J.D . Bransford, R. S. Sher-
wood, N. J. Vye, and J. Rieser. Teaching thinking and problem solv-
ing: Research foundations. American Psychologist 41
(1986):1078-1089; K. Nelson, R. Fivush, J. Hudson, and J.
Lucariello, Scripts and the development of memory. In M. T. H.
Chi (ed.), Contributions to Human Development, Vol. 9, Trends in
Memory Development Research. New York: Kargar, 1983; R. C.
Schank and R. P. Abelson, Scripts, Plans, Goals and Understanding.
Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977; R. Glaser,
Education and thinking: The role of knowledge. American Psychol-
gist 39 (1984):93-104.
6. Based on material developed by B. S. Stein and J . D. Bransford,
Constraints on effective elaboration: Effects of precision and self-
generation. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior 18
(1979):769-777. See also B.S. Stein, K. F. Brock, D. R. Ballard,
and N.J. Vye, Constraints on verbal and pictorial elaboration.
Memory &Cognition 15, no. 4 (1987): 281-290.
7. See C. E. Weinstein, Elaboration skills as a learning strategy. In H.
F. O'Neil, Jr. (ed.), Learning Strategies. New York: Academic Press,
1978.
8. See J . J. Franks, N. J. Vye, P. M. Auble, K. J . Mezynski, G. A. Per-
fetto, J.D. Bransford, B. S. Stein, and J. Littlefield, Learning from
explicit versus implicit texts. Journal of Experimental Psychology:
General111 (1982):414-422 .
9. M. T. H. Chi, M. Bassok, M. W. Lewis, P. Reimann, and R. Glaser,
Self-explanations: How students study and use examples in learn-
ing to solve problems. Cognitive Science 13 ( 19 8 9): 14 5-182.
10. From J. D. Bransford and N. S. McCarrell, A sketch of a cognitive
approach to comprehension. In W. Weimer and D. Palermo (eds.),
11m RModel for Requiring New Knowledge

Cognition and the Symbolic Processes. Hillsdale, N.J. : Lawrence

Erlbaum Associates, 1974.
11. From J. D. Bransford, Human Cognition: Learning, Understanding and
Remembering. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1979.
12. See J.D. Bransford, Schema activation versus schema acquisition.
In R. Anderson, J . Osborn, and R. Tierney (eds .), Learning to Read
in American Schools: Basal Readers and Content Texts. Hillsdale, N.J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1984.
13. From R. S. Day, Teaching from notes: Some cognitive conse-
quences. In W. J. McKeachie (ed.), New Directions for Teaching and
Learning: Learning, Cognition and College Teaching. San Francisco:
Jossey-Bass, 1980.
14. A. L. Brown, Knowing when, where, and how to remember: A
problem of metacognition. In R. Glaser (ed.), Advances in Instruc-
tional Psychology (Vol. 1). Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Asso-
ciates, 197 8.
15 . J. H. Flavell and H. M. Wellman, Metamemory. In R. V. Kail, Jr.,
and J. W. Hagen (eds.), Perspectives on the Development of Memory
and Cognition . Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977.
16. This example is discussed by G. A. Miller, Addendum to "Lexical
Meaning." In J . F. Kavanagh and W. Strange (eds.), Speech and Lan-
guage in the Laboratory, School and Clinic. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT
Press, 1978.
17. See note 11.
18. F. Darwin (ed.), The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, New York: D.
Appleton and Company, 1897, p. 48.
19. See note 10.
20 . Additional examples of access failure are discussed in J. J. Franks,
J.D . Bransford, K. Brailey, and S. Purdon, Understanding memory
access. In R. Hoffman and D. Palermo (eds.), Cognition and the Sym-
bolic Processes: Applied and Ecological Perspectives. Hillsdale, N.J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1991, pp. 281-299; K. J. Holyoak
and K. Koh, Surface and structural similarity in analogical transfer.
Memory & Cognition 15 (1987): 332-340; R. S. Lockhart, M. Lamon,
and M. L. Gick, Conceptual transfer in simple insight problems.
Memory &Cognition 16 (1988): 36-44; B.S. Stein, Memory and
creativity. In J. A. Glover, R. R. Ronning, and C. R. Reynolds,
Handbook of Creativity. New York: Plenum Press, 1989.
21. L. Resnick, Education and Learning to Think. Washington, D.C.:
National Academy Press, 1987.
 ~earning With Understanding liB

I Suggested Readings
Theoretical!~ Oriented Readings
Anderson, R. C. 1984. The role of reader's schema in comprehension,
learning and memory. In R. Anderson, J. Osborn, and R. Tierney
(eds.), Learning to Read in American Schools: Basal Readers and Content
Texts. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Asher, J. 1981. Fear of foreign languages. Psychology Today (August).
Bransford, J. D., B. S. Stein, N. J. Vye, J. J. Franks, P. M. Auble, K. J.
Mezynski, and G. A. Perfetto. 1982. Differences in approaches to
learning: An overview, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General
11:390-398.
Bransford, J. D., N. J. Vye, L. T. Adams, and G. A. Perfetto . In press.
Learning skills and the acquisition of knowledge. In R. Glaser and A.
Lesgold (eds.), Handbook of Psychology and Education. Hillsdale, N.J.:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Brown, A. L. 1992. Design experiments: Theoretical and methodological
challenges in creating complex interventions in classroom settings.
Journal ofthe Learning Sciences 2, no. 2:141-178.
Brown, A. L., J. D. Bransford, R. A. Ferrara, and J. C. Campione. 1983 .
Learning, remembering and understanding. In J. H. Flavell and E.
M. Markman (eds.), Carmichael's Manual of Child Psychology (Vol. 1).
New York: Wiley.
Brown, A. L., and J. S. DeLoache. 1978. Skills, plans and self-regulation.
In R. S. Siegler (ed.), Children's Thinking: What Develops? Hillsdale,
N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Chase, W. G., and H. A. Simon. 1973. Perception in chess. Cognitive Psy-
chology 4:55-81.
Glenberg, A.M., A. C. Wilkinson, and W. Epstein. 1982 . The illusion of
knowing: Failure in the self-assessment of comprehension. Memory
and Cognition 10: 597- 602.
Harris, R. J. 1977. Comprehension of pragmatic implications in advertis-
ing. Journal of Applied Psychology 62:603-608.
Just, M., and P. A. Carpenter. 1986. The Psychology of Reading and Language
Comprehension. New York: Allyn and Bacon.
Markman, E. M. 1977. Realizing that you don't understand: A prelimi-
nary investigation. Child Development 48:986-992.
Ng, E., and Bereither, C. 1991. Three levels of goal orientation in learn-
ing. Journal ofthe Learning Sciences 1, no. 3 and 4:243-271.
11m AModel for Acquiring New Hnowledge

Scardamalia, M., and C. Bereiter. 1991. Higher levels of agency for chil-
dren in knowledge building: A challenge for the design of new
knowledge media. Journal ofthe Learning Sciences 1, no. 1:37-68.
Spilich, G. J., G. T. Vesonder, H. L. Chiesi, and J . F. Voss. 1979. Text
processing of domain-related information for individuals with high
and low domain knowledge. Journal of Verbal Learning and Behavior
18:275-290.
 INSTRUCTION
THAT FACILITATES
PROBLEM SOLVING

Human history becomes more and more a race between education

and catastrophe.
H. G. Wells

The two preceding chapters explored ways of using the IDEAL frame-
work to improve our ability to master new information. We noted that
successful learners try to identify potential learning problems and to
define their goals so that they can select appropriate learning strategies. If
our goal is to acquire conceptual tools that can help us solve problems in
the future, it is also important to select strategies that facilitate under-
standing rather than just memorization. Much of our previous discussion
focused on what the individual learner can do to improve learning. In-
deed, it is important to look at learning from the perspective of the
individual because much of what we learn is acquired through personal
experience. But a great deal of learning also occurs in more formal educa-
tional contexts--contexts that can encourage people to pursue effective
approaches to learning or discourage them from doing so. In this chapter
we consider some reasons that many traditional approaches to instruc-
tion do not facilitate problem solving, and we discuss alternatives that
hold more promise for helping students learn to think and learn on their
own.
IIIli RModel for Requiring New Knowledge

I Wh~ Problem Solving Needs to Be an Integral Part

of Education
In a recent article, Alan Schoenfeld describes a study by Kurt Reusser that
is both revealing and disturbing. 1 Reusser gave schoolchildren the fol-
lowing problem in the context of other mathematics problems:

There are 26 sheep and I 0 goats on a ship. How old is the captain l

Approximately three-quarters of the children in Reusser's study at-

tempted to supply a numerical answer to this problem. Their approach
was to add, multiply, or divide rather than check to see if the problem
made sense.
Our reaction to Reusser's data was that this must have been a
special group of students who had been taught poorly. We gave the
problem to one of our own children who was in fifth grade. Much to our
surprise and dismay, the answer given was 36. When we asked why, we
were told, "Well, you need to add or subtract or multiply in problems like
this, and this one seemed to work best if I add." Procedures such as
addition and multiplication are often applied in very rote ways.
Findings like these are just one of many reasons that people have
begun to seriously question the effectiveness of our educational system.
The major concern is that schools are not doing enough to help people
become proficient at solving problems and learning on their own. These
concerns are justified on the basis of experimental studies like the one
just described, poor scores of American students in science and math
compared to those of students in other countries, and the complaints of
business leaders that most graduates cannot learn effectively and think
for themselves.
In a world that is changing at an increasingly rapid pace, people
must be able to adapt to new situations that require creative and non-
routine thinking. For example, Susan Berryman 2 notes that economic
factors have forced businesses to become more proficient at adapting to
changing competitive markets. Businesses that rely only on the higher
levels of management to generate new ideas and solve problems will not
be successful. In today's business environment it is important for em-
ployees at all levels to become problem finders and problem solvers ra-
ther than simply people who follow orders. Indeed, the changes affecting
business will also affect organizations such as schools, universities, and
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving Ia

even families in a world in which change-especially technology-driven

change-demands the ability to deal with nonroutine problems.
In this chapter we address three basic issues concerning instruction.
First, we explore the problems of traditional approaches to instruction,
focusing on their failure to promote effective thinking. Second, we dis-
cuss some new approaches to instruction that organize learning around
the goal of solving authentic, meaningful problems. These approaches
differ from traditional methods that first present the facts and principles
and then present applications problems at the end of each lesson. Third,
we consider assessment and its relationship to the IDEAL framework.
The ability to look at the effects of our actions and learn from them is
critical. If we want to improve our ability to think rather than memorize,
we must be able to evaluate our thinking. Most assessments, however,
test memory for specific facts and procedures. One of the major challen-
ges in redefining instruction is to invent new ways of assessing creative
thinking and problem solving.

I Problems with Traditional Approaches to Instruction

An increasing number of educators believe that typical instructional prac-
tice fails to help students acquire knowledge in a form that facilitates
thinking and problem solving. They argue that most instruction is based
on an antiquated "transmission model" by which teachers and authors
attempt to directly transmit their expertise to students. With the trans-
mission model, instruction is usually decontextualized; that is, it takes
place outside the context of problems that actually require the use of the
knowledge gained.
Researchers have identified a number of problems with instruction
that is based on the transmission model. For example, Charles Gragg 3
argues that the basic problem is that "wisdom can't be told." The ability
to hear or read transmitted information and to remember it later is no
guarantee that people can use that knowledge to identify, define, and
solve problems. In Chapter 7 we discussed Alfred North Whitehead's
point that our educational system was adept at producing inert know-
ledge-knowledge that people can recall but cannot apply to problems.
This idea has been explored and expanded over the past 2 5 years. For
example, Nobel laureate Herbert Simon has argued that a student's fa-
miliarity with basic facts and isolated skills is not sufficient to support
effective problem solving. Such a familiarity provides no guarantee that
11m HModel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

people will know when, why, and how to apply their knowledge. He
notes that "students may possess calculus skills without recognizing that
they are applicable to a particular physics problem or without knowing
exactly how to apply them." 4

Rn Example of Inert Hnowledge

A story related to us by a colleague, Ann Michael, illustrates the problem
of inert knowledge. 5 She served for several years as a clinical supervisor
of college students who were beginning a practicum in language therapy
for language-delayed children. The students had all passed the required
college course on theories of language and their implications for therapy,
but there was almost no evidence that the students ever attempted to use
this knowledge in the clinical therapy sessions. Michael concluded that
the college course must have been very poorly taught.
Michael was later asked to teach that college course herself. She did
what she thought was a highly competent job and was pleased with the
general performance of the students on her tests. A year later, she en-
countered a number of her students again in the clinical practicum on
language therapy. Much to her surprise and dismay, these students also
showed almost no evidence of applying anything they had learned in
their language course. Many could remember facts when explicitly asked
about them, but they did not automatically draw on that knowledge to
help them solve problems in the clinic.
Michael was reluctant to conclude that her college students per-
formed poorly because of poor instruction. Instead she was motivated to
explore problems with traditional approaches to instruction and to study
ways to overcome them. Overall, Michael's experiences confirmed
Whitehead's, Gragg's, and Simon's observations that much of the infor-
mation acquired in school tends to remain inert.

Uses of Applications Problems to Teach Problem Solving

Of course, helping people to develop usable (that is, noninert) knowledge
by having them solve problems is not new. A time-honored approach is
to present students with applications problems such as those that appear
following chapters in textbooks. The general approach is first to teach
students relevant skills and knowledge and then to let them see how this
knowledge can be applied. If you were teaching the concept of density,
 Instruction That FacilitatesProblem Solving liB

for example, you might first present the relevant facts and formulas (for
example, that density equals mass divided by volume) and then present
applications problems for solution (for example, "An object weighs 4
grams and has a volume of 8 cubic centimeters. What is its density? ").
It seems clear that the effectiveness of the transmission model of
instruction can be improved by using applications problems. However,
traditional applications problems have severe shortcomings. Researchers
in the Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt University have
discussed several of these shortcomings.6 One is that they often fail to
help students think about realistic situations. Instead of bringing real-
world standards to their work, students tend to treat word problems
mechanically, failing to consider constraints imposed by real-world fac-
tors. Ed Silver7 provides an excellent example of a relatively mechanical
approach to word problems. Students were asked to determine the num-
ber of buses needed to take a specific number of people on a field trip.
Many of them divided the total number of students by the number that
each bus would hold and came up with answers like 2V3. The students
failed to consider that one cannot use a third of a bus.
A second limitation of traditional applications problems is the habits
of mind that they encourage. Applications problems can generally be
solved by thinking back to information studied in the previous chapter or
chapters. The goal is therefore to retrieve information rather than to
develop a more intuitive and creative approach to problem solving. This
can limit the development of people's ability to think for themselves.
Furthermore, many applications problems provide only one correct an-
swer to a problem. This can lead to misconceptions about the nature of
problem solving and can inhibit creative thought.
A third limitation of traditional applications problems is that most of
them explicitly define the problem to be solved rather than help students
to identify the problem themselves and work through the process of
clarifying their goals. Outside of schooL people have to identify problems
that others have ignored and deal with problems that are not clearly
defined. For example, consider the problem of preventing people from
getting injured in automobile crashes that was discussed earlier. Effective
problem solvers will define their goals in a variety of ways (for example,
to reduce injuries caused by people striking against hard objects inside
the car, to create a system that absorbs the force of impact, or to prevent
crashes from happening). Realistic problems can usually be approached
from a number of different perspectives and usually have a number of
potential solutions. It is therefore important to develop the skills neces-
lED RHodel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

sary to define one's own goals and assumptions rather than always to
have them defined for one in applications problems.
These arguments are not meant to imply that applications problems
are useless. Indeed, we use them throughout this book to provide extra
practice in when, why, and how to apply the concepts discussed. Our
argument is that the general procedure of facts and principles first, fol-
lowed by applications is not sufficient to develop powerful mental habits
that support thinking and problem solving. Alternatives to this approach
are discussed next.

I Organizing ~earning Around Problem Solving

In recent years, an increasing number of investigators have become inter-
ested in approaches to instruction that provide opportunities for students
to acquire relevant knowledge in the context of attempting to solve complex,
authentic problems. This is not a new idea. For example, theorists such as
John Dewey and Norwood Hanson have noted that one reason experts
can appreciate the potential value of new theories and concepts is that
such information has implications for problems about which they are
genuinely interested.8 Consequently, experts are easily made aware of
how new ideas produce changes in their own thinking. To novices, how-
ever, new theories often seem to be made up of arbitrary relationships
and mechanical procedures that have to be memorized. Since novices
have not been immersed in the phenomena being investigated, they
cannot gauge how a new way of thinking may change the way problems
are seen and understood. One of the major goals of situating or anchor-
ing instruction in problem-solving environments is to help students ap-
preciate the problems and opportunities that experts encounter and to
experience the changes in thinking that result from new concepts and
ideas.
John Seeley Brown, Alan Collins, and Paul Duguid9 discuss other
reasons for situating instruction in authentic problem-solving environ-
ments. They note that when students begin with authentic problems,
they are more motivated to find solutions. In addition, this method helps
students to identify issues and opportunities and to see the need for
learning about new concepts and procedures relevant to solving prob-
lems. The importance of creating opportunities for students to become
aware of the need for new concepts was also stressed by Alfred North
Whitehead, who argued that the first thing we should do with a new idea
is prove its worth by showing why it is particularly useful.
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving EJII

Poor Scholar's Sol i loqu~

A colleague sent us an article on education written in 1944 by Stephen
Corey. 10 It provides an informative contrast between learning in formal
settings and learning in the context of meaningful problems: Entitled
"Poor Scholar's Soliloquy," the article is written from the perspective of
an imaginary student (we'll call him Bob) who is not very good in school
and has had to repeat the seventh grade. Many would write Bob off as
having a low aptitude for learning. But when you look at what Bob is
capable of achieving outside of school, you get a very different impression
of his abilities.
Part of the soliloquy describes how teachers don't like Bob because
he doesn't read the kind of books that they value. Bob's favorite books
include Popular Science, the Mechanical Encyclopedia, and the Sear's and
Ward's catalogs. Bob uses his books to pursue meaningful goals. He says,
"I don't just sit down and read them through like they make us do in
school. I use my books when I want to find something out, like whenever
Mom buys anything second hand I look it up in Sear's or Ward's first and
tell her if she's getting stung or not."
Later on, Bob explains the trouble he had memorizing the names of
the presidents. He knew some of them, like Washington and Jefferson,
but there were 30 altogether and he never did get them all straight. He
seems to have a poor memory. Then he talks about the three trucks his
uncle owns and how he knows the horsepower and number of forward
and backward gears of 26 different American trucks, many of them die-
sels. Then he says, "It's funny how that Diesel works. I started to tell my
teacher about it last Wednesday in science class when the pump we were
using to make a vacuum in a bell jar got hot, but she said she didn't see
what a Diesel engine had to do with our experiment on air pressure so I
just kept still. The kids seemed interested, though."
Bob also discusses his inability to do the kinds of word problems
found in his textbooks. Yet he helps his uncle make all kinds of complex
plans when they travel together. He talks about the bills and letters he
sends to the farmers whose livestock his uncle hauls and about how he
made only three mistakes in his last 17 letters-all of them commas.
Then he says, "I wish I could write school themes that way. The last one
I had to write was on 'What a Daffodil Thinks of Spring,' and I just
couldn't get going."
Bob ends his soliloquy by noting that, according to his dad, he can
quit school at the age of 15, and he feels like he should. After all, he's not
getting any younger and he has a lot to learn.
llmJ RModel for Requiring NewHnowledge

Bob's soliloquy is as relevant to the 1990s as it was to the 1940s.

First, it provides a useful contrast between typical instructional practice
and learning that occurs in the context of meaningful problem solving.
Second, it highlights the fact that many students seem to learn effectively
in the context of authentic, real-life activities, yet have great difficulty
with the decontextualized type of instruction common in most schools.
Of course, not everyone is lucky enough to have an uncle like Bob's
who, in effect, gives him an apprenticeship in everyday problem solving.
A number of educators are exploring ways to recreate some of the advan-
tages of apprenticeship learning by changing typical instructional prac-
tice. We discuss several examples below.

Case -Based Instruction

A number of professional schools such as law schools, medical schools,
business schools, and schools of educational administration are using an
approach called "case-based" or "problem-based" instruction. Susan Wil-
liams11 provides an excellent review and analysis of case-based instruc-
tion in law schools and medical schools. The essence of the approach is to
organize instruction around actual situations that students are likely to
encounter later in their careers. In business, for example, a case might
focus on a company that is in trouble and needs to be restructured. In
medicine, a case might involve a patient with certain symptoms. Students
work on cases over some fixed period of time, acquire any new informa-
tion that is needed to solve the problem, and eventully discuss their ideas
with classmates and with the professor. Ideally, students move from sim-
ple cases to more complex ones. In the process, they acquire relevant
knowledge while learning to analyze problems, set learning goals, and
present and discuss their ideas.
There are a wide variety of ideas about what makes a good case and
what the best way is to use cases. Williams notes that the cases used in
law schools tend to be quite different in structure from those used in
medical schools. In addition, there are a variety of case formats within
any particular area. For example, one format for a medical case is to
provide data about a patient's symptoms and test results and then have
students make a diagnosis. Another format is for a simulated patient to
answer questions posed by students. This encourages questions from the
students that are quite similar to those that practicing physicians will
have to ask after they leave school.
Most variations on case-based and problem-based learning provide
opportunities to develop effective problem-solving skills like those in the
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving EJII

IDEAL framework. For example, students learn to identify problems and

opportunities in the context of the cases, to define goals (such as to ac-
quire information relevant to a case), to explore strategies (such as where
to look for information .or what tests to perform), to anticipate the effec-
tiveness of their current level of analysis, and eventually to act by pre-
senting their ideas to the teacher and fellow classmates. This provides an
opportunity for them to look at the effects of their actions and to learn
something that will help them solve the next case.

Project-Based Instruction
Another way to organize instruction around problem solving is to create
student projects. An excellent example is the Discover Rochester project
discussed by Alan Collins, Jan Hawkins, and Sharon Carver. 12 In this
project, eighth-grade students who were at risk of dropping out of school
spent one day each week exploring aspects of their hometown-Roch-
ester, New York-from a scientific, mathematical, historical, cultural, and
literary perspective. Working in groups, the students conducted their
own research on topics such as industry, weather, theater, and employ-
ment. On the basis of their research, they developed multimedia exhibits
for the Rochester Museum and Science Center. The exhibits included
text, audio, graphics, maps, and music. Students also studied the reac-
tions of people to their projects and refined them based on the feedback
they received.
Collins, Hawkins, and Carver used a variation of the IDEAL frame-
work adapted to their project. They helped students identify problems and
opportunities by encouraging them to pose interesting questions about
their community. As students researched the answers to these questions,
they were helped to further define their goals. They were then helped to
explore a number of strategies for gathering and representing data, includ-
ing strategies for using indexes, conducting interviews, and organizing
and analyzing data. Students then attempted to anticipate the effects of
their presentations (for example, by conducting tests with one another),
and they eventually acted on their ideas by placing their multimedia
products in the museum. Students were then encouraged to look at the
effects of their products on the audience and to learn from the experi-
ence. Some students learned that their products were less interesting
than they had thought; they therefore reentered the IDEAL cycle in order
to improve the product the next time.
Many teachers in other fields have effectively used projects as an-
chors for instruction. For example, Lisa Glick and Michael Ross used the
llmJI RHodel for Requiring New Hnowledge

problem of establishing and maintaining a garden as an anchor for in-

struction in biology, botany, nutrition, and the scientific method. 13 Prob-
lems that typically confront the gardener, such as how to maximize
growth and minimize the damage caused by pests and diseases, provide a
meaningful framework for studying photosynthesis and the proper way
to conduct scientific research. Teachers in business and economics have
tried to anchor instruction in realistic problems such as establishing and
maintaining a small business. Working on such problems makes it much
easier for students to understand the need for accurate accounting proce-
dures, principles of finance, and concepts of business management.
Other real-world problems that can serve as effective anchors for
instruction may be narrower in scope than establishing and maintaining
a new business. For example, we have explored with Bob Harwood such
problems as determining what types of nails are hardest to remove from
wood and what type of lubricant is best for a model race car. 14 These
problems can serve as effective anchors for concepts in physics, chem-
istry, and the scientific method.
Some complex real-world problems, such as designing a better way
to protect people from injury in automobile accidents, can be simplified
and explored with the limited equipment and materials available in the
classroom. For example, we have worked with teachers like Tony Pet-
rosino, who asked his students to design an enclosure that would protect
an egg from breaking after it was dropped from a second -story window.
This problem has been used by many educators as an effective anchor for
helping students learn about physics and the scientific method.

Debates as Anchors tor Learning

Debates are often used in our society as a medium for communicating
ideas and influencing attitudes, and they can also be used as effective
anchors for learning. To effectively debate an issue, students must spend
considerable time searching for and analyzing information about the
underlying issues. The structure of a debate provides more clearly de-
fined goals for this new information than students might otherwise have.
For example, to prepare for a debate on the issue of national health
insurance, it is important to understand both sides of the issue and to
prepare an effective counterargument for each claim the opponent might
make. Instead of being isolated facts, information about the cost and
effectiveness of health care programs in other countries becomes sig-
nificant and relevant to defending a particular position. The goals that the
participants pursue in preparing for the debate help them to understand
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving E1tl

the potential value of new information and to place that new information
under close scrutiny.
Debate topics can be formulated in almost any field. It is important
to select a topic that students have some familiarity with but that can
serve as an anchor for the sustained exploration of new concepts and
ideas. For example, topics involving environmental issues such as recy-
cling and incineration can provide a meaningful anchor for learning
about chemical reactions, biological processes, and the ecosystem. The
instructor can influence the topics explored in these debates by providing
relevant readings or sources of information and by establishing criteria
for evaluating the adequacy of arguments (for example, the presentation
must include an adequate chemical analysis of the products of incinera-
tion).

Alternatives to Traditional Debates

One of the problems with traditional debates is that they usually take
place during a short period of time . Even though the participants may
have considerable time to prepare for the debate, they often have little
time to communicate their positions and to prepare counterarguments
against their opponents. The traditional debate format allows little oppor-
tunity for sustained exploration of topics once the debate is over.
We have experimented with alternative debate formats that permit
more sustained exploration and give students input into the debate pro-
cess. One format that seems particularly promising is the "challenge de-
bate." This differs from the traditional debate in that each group of stu-
dents presents its argument at different times. For example, one group
may prepare its argument in response to a television program or current
event. Its presentation is presented to the class and recorded, giving the
other students a record of the presentations and a chance to carefully
examine the argument. Successive groups of students then prepare argu-
ments that challenge this presentation. The ongoing nature of these chal-
lenge debates gives each group of students the opportunity for sustained
exploration of the issue as the debate progresses. An additional advantage
of recording each presentation is that students can compare their argu-
ments to those in other classes.

Video -Based Anchor sor Macrocontexts

Another approach to problem-based instruction involves the use of video
and computer technology to anchor or situate instruction within the
11m1 RModel tor Requiring New Knowledge

context of meaningful problems. One example of a video-based anchor is

the "Voyage of the Mimi" program developed at Bank Street College. It
provides a series of exciting video stories about a group of students who
go on a sailing trip to study whales. After watching the video, students
(from the fifth grade and up) engage in paper-and-pencil and computer-
based problem-solving activities that allow them to explore the useful-
ness of a variety of scientific and mathematical concepts. 15
Another example of a video-based anchor for instruction is Vander-
bilt University's Jasper Woodbury Problem Solving Series designed for
students in the fifth grade and up. There are currently six adventures in
the Jasper series. Two use stories that involve complex trip planning, two
require the use of statistics to create and present a feasible business plan,
and two use geometry to estimate heights and navigate. Each adventure
in the series ends with an interesting, complex problem to solve; students
generate the subgoals necessary to solve the problem and can then look
back at the video to find relevant data embedded in the story. Each
adventure also provides opportunities to integrate information from a
variety of disciplines such as history, geography, literature, and science.
In the Jasper adventure "Rescue at Boone's Meadow," an ultralight
airplane must be used to rescue a wounded eagle in a remote location.
Students must help plan the rescue, and to do so they must search for
relevant information that was presented earlier in the story. For example,
they need data about the speed, fuel consumption, and fuel capacity of
the ultralight; the location of the eagle; possible landing sites; areas where
there are and are not roads; the weight of eagles; and needed supplies. In
most classes, each Jasper problem takes from three to five class periods to
solve. Students then work on "what if" problems that encourage them to
expand their thinking about each adventure. For example, the original
rescue was on a calm day, but what if there had been a 5-rnile-per-hour
headwind? As students work through this problem they discover the
need to dramatically revise the original rescue plan.
The Jasper series is on videodisc rather than videotape, making it
easier to search for relevant data. The Jasper series has been shown to
enhance complex problem-solving skills and to improve attitudes toward
mathematics. 16

Simulations
Simulations provide another way to situate learning within the context
of meaningful problems. Advances in microcomputer technology have
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving 1tifJ1

made it much easier to simulate complex processes that would be dif-

ficult to study and explore in real life. For example, the computer pro-
gram SimCity allows one to design and manage a model city. Users can
control development (for example, commercial, residential, industrial,
and transportation); set taxes; and monitor important indices such as
public opinion, population growth, tax revenue, government expendi-
tures, and property values. The simulation provides the opportunity to
identify problems such as inadequate fire and police protection and to
experience the effects of failing to deal with those problems. It allows
users to define goals for their city (such as reliance on mass transporta-
tion versus the automobile, or controlled growth versus rapid expan-
sion) and to explore a variety of strategies for achieving those goals. In
addition, they can antidpate potential problems such as earthquakes and
explore strategies that might mitigate their consequences (building re-
dundancy into the electric power distribution network, for example).
Simulations also allow people to act on their strategies and look back at
the effects, something that can be difficult and costly to do in the real
world.
SimCity can serve as an effective anchor for learning about the
effects of tax rates on economic expansion and the design of effective
transportation systems. Other simulations, such as SimEarth, can provide
an anchor for learning about biology and earth sciences. 17
A potential problem with simulations like SimCity is the degree to
which they distort, simplify, or ignore variables that may have important
effects in real life. For example, SimCity does not deal with waste dis-
posal, an important problem in modern cities. It also does not permit
users to select specific industries for development, which would encour-
age consideration of such important factors as their environmental im-
pact and wage levels. In addition, the cost of developing new properties
in the simulation is not realistic, and the mathematical models that un-
derlie the simulated effects of tax rates on economic activity are over-
simplified. Given the complexity of the problems that programs like
SimCity and SirnEarth are designed to explore, however, we cannot fault
the developers for simplifying the underlying model.
To determine whether a simulation can serve as an effective anchor
for instruction, it is necessary to carefully define the goals for problem-
based learning and see if the simulation allows students to explore vari-
ables that are relevant to those goals. Ideally, the developers of simulation
packages will work with educators to create programs that support a
variety of educational goals.
lED RHodel for Requiring New Hnowledge

I General Issues Related to Problem -Based Learning

The effectiveness of problem-based instruction depends greatly on how
the learning environment is structured and how the problem is ap-
proached. We have seen many attempts to use problem-based learning
fail because insufficient consideration was given to key components of
the instructional context. For instance, problem-based instruction can fail
because the problems themselves are not interesting to students or be-
cause they are presented in a way that does not challenge or motivate
students. We believe that almost any problem can be made into a chal-
lenging and motivating experience. Doing so requires many of the com-
munication skills discussed in Chapter 5, especially those concerned with
understanding the intended audience.
It is easy to present a problem that is insufficiently challenging, but
it is also possible to present one that is too difficult for students to work
with in a productive way. It is important to provide sufficient instruction-
al support that students are not overwhelmed by a task. It is also a good
idea to select problems that build upon knowledge acquired from pre-
vious learning experiences.
Problem-based instruction may also fail when the structure of the
problem or the problem-solving environment is insufficient to perrnit the
establishment of meaningful goals and the exploration of productive
strategies. For example, earlier in this book we discussed the problem of
long lines at grocery stores. We have found with this problem that it is
important to impose realistic constraints on the solution (for example,
that it must be cost effective and not cause the store to lose money).
Without such constraints students are free to explore unproductive strat-
egies (such as not admitting new customers or building another store
nearby) that would not be feasible in real life. It is therefore important to
impose constraints that encourage the use of relevant resources and the
exploration of productive strategies. Of course, it is also possible to im-
pose too many constraints on the problem-solving process, which can
prevent people from exploring creative alternatives.
Finally, problem-based instruction can fail when students are not
helped to take a systematic approach to problem solving and to carefully
evaluate their actions. For many students, problem-based learning is a
new experience, and they may be unprepared for a situation in which
goals are not clearly defined and the strategies needed to solve problems
are not readily apparent. We have found that prompting students to
 Instruction That FacilitatesProblem Solving . _

apply a model like the IDEAL framework can greatly facilitate the effec-
tiveness of problem-based learning. An especially important considera-
tion is the need to design opportunities for assessment. We discuss this
issue later in the chapter.

Problem Selection
Anchoring instruction in realistic problem-solving tasks works best when
these tasks are tailored to the needs, interests, and skills of students.
Ideally, instructors interested in problem-based learning should find or
develop their own anchors or find ways to help students design problems
for themselves.
The process of developing effective problems can be facilitated by
using the IDEAL framework. For example, one of our colleagues in the
social sciences, Ada Haynes, identified a problem in her students' under-
standing of the concept of prejudice. Although many of them could recite
a definition of the word, few could recognize many instances of prejudice
in their environment. Rather than give a lecture on the topic, Haynes
treated the problem as an opportunity to provide a learning experience
that would promote greater understanding and recognition of prejudice.
She defined her goal as teaching students to recognize prejudice in others
through the irrational behavior that it promotes. She also wanted stu-
dents to learn to recognize prejudice in themselves. To accomplish these
goals, she explored realistic situations in which decisions could be based
either on reason or on prejudice.
One task required students to decide who should be let into a special
shelter during a nuclear war. Students were told that the 6 people chosen
might be the only ones left on the planet and that they would have to
choose these 6 out of a list of 12. They were given information about the
12 people that might be relevant to the goal of rebuilding society (for
example, fertility, medical training, and agricultural training) . In addi-
tion, some of the individuals were assigned characteristics that typically
invoke prejudice (being Jewish, African-American, socialist, or Iraqi) .
She tried to antidpate the effectiveness of her strategy by finding out
beforehand which cultural or ethnic groups elicited the strongest signs of
prejudice.
Haynes acted on her instructional strategy by having students make
and explain their decisions. She then was able to look back at the effec-
tiveness of her strategy and to learn how to make improvements. These
included modifying the descriptions to provide greater opportunities for
IIIII RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

exploring prejudice and involving class members in the identification of

signs of prejudice. 18

Cooperative ~earning and Problem-Based ~earning

The idea of having students work together to accomplish learning goals
has a long history. Early advocates of cooperative learning include such
theorists and practitioners as Francis Parker, John Dewey, Margaret
Mead, and Morton Deutsch. Dewey argued that classroom life should
embody the ideals of a democratic society. He felt that an important part
of that ideal was that people work together to solve common problems. 19
More recently, educational researchers such as Elliot Aronson, David
Johnson, Roger Johnson, and Robert Slavin have advocated the use of
cooperative learning procedures. 20
Much of the problem-based learning discussed earlier in this chap-
ter can be used in conjunction with cooperative learning groups. Indeed,
many of the problem-based methods we described work best when stu-
dents work together in small learning groups. One advantage of combin-
ing cooperative learning with problem-based instruction is that it allows
students to deal with more complex and time-consuming problems than
they would be able to work with on their own. For example, a complex
problem can be broken down into parts and the tasks divided among
group members. Each student has his or her individual tasks to perform
but also helps others when problems arise. Encouraging students to help
one another reduces their dependence on the instructor and permits
them to explore more creative approaches to problems. We have found
that the IDEAL framework can facilitate cooperative learning during
problem solving.
Unfortunately, we have also seen cases in which cooperative learn-
ing did not allow the majority of students to accomplish the learning
goals we felt were important. Less able members of the group often let
others do all the work (this is sometimes called "social loafing") or else
those with the most ability did all the work. David Johnson and Roger
Johnson 21 provide a variety of useful guidelines for developing coopera-
tive learning environments that avoid these problems. For instance, they
argue that it is important to create a learning environment in which
students have a vested interest in promoting one another's success and
each group member is understood to have a unique and indispensable
contribution to make to the group's effort. In addition, it is important to
ensure that each individual be accountable for the group's work as well
as his or her own. These goals can be furthered by having each student's
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving a.
grade depend on his or her own performance and on the group's perfor-
mance as a whole. We have also found it helpful for students to evaluate
one another's performance.

I The Importance of Opportunities for Assessment

Throughout this book we have emphasized the importance of the look
and learn components of the IDEAL framework. For example, in Chapter
7 we discussed the importance of debugging learning strategies by look-
ing at one's performance in various situations such as exams. If we fail to
look at the effects of our actions (for example, of our study strategies) we
cannot learn from them. Effective instruction requires frequent oppor-
tunities for students to analyze the effects of their actions and to learn
from them.
Many years ago the noted psychologist Edward Thorndike per-
formed a simple experiment that illustrates the importance of learning
from the effects of one's actions. 22 He defined his goal as learning to draw
a line while blindfolded that was exactly 4 inches long. He practiced
hundreds of times-blindfolded-and never improved. Because of the
blindfold he could never look at the effects of his actions, so he never
knew the length of the line he had just drawn. Eventually Thorndike
removed the blindfold and was able to see how close each line he drew
came to 4 inches. He quickly mastered his goal. The purpose of the
experiment was to demonstrate the role of feedback in learning. Removal
of the blindfold allowed Thorndike to receive feedback; that is, to look at
the effects of his actions and learn from them.
We noted in Chapter 7 that people often fail to analyze the effects of
their activities. They act as if they were blindfolded-or if they do look it
is not in enough detail. For example, we discussed the fact that many
students note only their overall grade on an exam or paper, failing to
identify the kinds of questions they missed and to understand why.
Seeing only one's grade on a test is like being blindfolded, attempting to
draw a line exactly 4 inches long, and then being told "right" or "wrong."
This may help to some extent, but it is better to have more precise
information about the effects of one's actions. The statement "It's 1!2 inch
too long" is more helpful than "It's too long," which in tum is more
helpful than "It's wrong."
In educational settings, both teachers and students can benefit by
looking at the effects of their actions and learning from them. Students
can learn to learn by analyzing the reasons for their performance on tests
IIDJI RModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

and other assignments such as papers and presentations. Teachers can

learn to improve their own instruction by looking at its effects on student
learning. If students are doing poorly, chances are that many elements of
the instruction could be improved.

Tests Versus Opportunities tor Self-Rssessment

It is important to distinguish "testing" from "opportunities for self-assess-
ment." Students are often tested in ways that do not help them learn to
learn. On an essay exam or a paper, for example, students may receive a
letter grade but never have an opportunity to explore with the instructor
how their learning and writing strategies could be improved.
One reason instructors are more likely to give tests than oppor-
tunities for self-assessment is that their time is limited. It can be very
difficult to find the time to work one-on-one-especially with large clas-
ses of students-but there are a variety of strategies that can be used to
help students learn from essay exams and other written assignments. 23
Some of these provide opportunities for revising an exam or paper before
the final grade is assigned. For example, we have found it very beneficial
to have students provide detailed criticism and feedback (peer review)
about one another's writing. Another strategy useful with college stu-
dents is to provide anonymous examples of outstanding answers to each
essay question when tests are returned. This lets each student compare
an example of excellent performance to his or her own performance on
the same question. We also attempt to help students analyze the ele-
ments that make up an excellent answer. A variation on this procedure is
to provide students with anonymous examples of excellent, good, and
average essay answers so that they have a larger set for comparison. In
our experience, students can readily see the difference between excel-
lent, good, and average performance; in the process, they develop better
criteria for judging their own performance on future tests .

The Nature of Rssessments

If our goal is to help students learn to solve problems and become inde-
pendent learners, assessment is crucial. We have noted throughout this
book that different learning goals require different learning strategies. If
exams test only a few important learning goals, students will adapt their
goals to the tests and learn only a few strategies for learning.
Educators and researchers like Joan Baron argue that schools will
not be able to convert to a problem-solving curriculum until they change
 Instruction That Facilitates Problem Solving 1Jm

the nature of testing. 24 Most tests measure small pieces of knowledge

such as definitions and procedures like addition or subtraction. These are
important to know and to test, but if they are all that we test, we are not
helping students to think and learn on their own. For example, imagine
trying to implement one of the problem-based curricula discussed earlier
by administering frequent tests of the facts in the curriculum. Effective
learners would get better at memorizing facts, but this would be no
guarantee that they would learn to find, define, and solve problems on
their own.
A challenge facing all educators is to find ways of assessing learning
that focus on authentic performances that are relevant to society and the
workplace. Examples might include gathering data for a convincing busi-
ness plan; working on a team to create interesting and informative edu-
cational products; presenting a coherent argument both in writing and
orally and then answering questions; or designing a device that performs
a useful function. The important point is that the overall goal requires
that the student engage in a set of authentic performances rather than
merely memorizing disconnected facts and procedures. As learning goals
become more authentic, students begin to find and invent strategies that
will be useful throughout their lives.
We want to emphasize, however, that more is involved in authentic
assessment than a focus on authentic goals. We have seen many class-
room implementations of problem-based curricula such as those dis-
cussed earlier in this chapter that do not provide opportunities for self-
assessment as the project proceeds. Often the only assessment is at the
end of the project, when students turn in their finished product. It is
much more valuable for students to have opportunities for reflection and
discussion at all stages of a project. For example, students can be helped
to assess the reasonableness of all aspects of problem solving-their iden-
tification of interesting topics; their ability to define alternative goals, in-
cluding learning goals; their exploration of strategies for achieving these
goals; their ability to anticipate the effects of their actions; and their ability
to look at the effects of those actions and learn from them.

I Summar~
In this chapter we discussed the importance of preparing people to think
for themselves and solve problems so that they can adapt to a world that
is changing at an increasingly rapid pace. There are several reasons that
our educational system may not be preparing people for these goals. For
IIIII RHodel tor Requiring New Hnowledge

instance, instruction often relies on the transmission model, according to

which teachers and textbook authors attempt to directly transmit their
expertise to students. The ability to remember transmitted information is
often insufficient to ensure the ability to use that knowledge to identify,
define, and solve problems.
A variety of instructional strategies might help people to develop
usable (that is, noninert) knowledge and thinking skills. One traditional
approach to achieving these goals are the applications problems that
appear at the end of chapters in textbooks. Although the effectiveness of
the transmission model can be improved by the use of applications prob-
lems, they have several shortcomings. One is that applications problems
often fail to help students think about realistic situations and to develop
the thinking skills that are important for solving realistic problems-skills
such as identifying problems that others have ignored and working with
problems that are not dearly defined.
Alternative approaches to instruction situate or anchor learning in
more realistic problem-solving environments. These problem-based ap-
proaches include a variety of strategies for anchoring instruction in realis-
tic problems. Some problem-based approaches involve the use of new
technologies such as videodisc workstations to present real-life dramas.
In contrast, other forms of problem-based learning involve little or no
technology and instead use methods such as debates.
There are many problems that can serve as anchors for instruction,
but selecting appropriate ones requires careful analysis of the desired
goals for learning and the skills and interests of the students.
The use of problem-based instruction requires alternative ways of
assessing student performance. If we are truly interested in developing
more complex thinking skills, we cannot rely on tests that assess only the
ability to remember facts and procedures. Many problem-based curricula
do not provide opportunities for self-assessment as students progress
through a project but instead focus only on the final product. Without
systematic assessment, both learning and teaching are usually far less
than ideal.
In this chapter we emphasized the importance of making learning a
part of some larger goal-directed activity in which new information be-
comes a valuable tool or strategy. Even the best problem or new technol-
ogy will have little effect on learning if students are forced to be passive
recipients of information. Instead, students must be encouraged to ac-
tively participate in the process of solving problems, a process that in-
cludes identifying problems, defining relevant goals, and exploring new
 Instru ction That Facilitates Problem Solving IJIII

ideas and strategies that could help them achieve those goals. Effective
instruction must also encourage students to anticipate the outcome of
using particular strategies and then to act on the most promising ones.
Students can then look back at the effects of their efforts and learn how
to improve their approach to problem solving.

I Notes
1. A. H. Schoenfeld, Teaching mathematical thinking and problem
solving. In L. B. Resnick and L. E. Klopfer (eds.), Toward the Think-
ing Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research. Alexandria, Va.:
American Society for Curriculum Development, 1989, pp. 83-103;
K. Reusser, Problem solving beyond the logic of things: Contextual
effects on understanding and solving word problems. Instructional
Science 17 (1988):309-338.
2. S. Berryman, Learning for the workplace: The state of play. Review
of Research in Education (in press).
3. C. I. Gragg, Because wisdom can't be told. Harvard Alumni Bulletin
(October 19, 1940):78-84.
4. H. A. Simon, Problem solving and education. In D. T. Tuma and
R. Reif (eds.), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching and
Research. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980, p. 82 .
5. Ann Michael, personal communication with authors, Nashville,
Tenn., 1991.
6. Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt. The Jasper series:
A generative approach to improving mathematical thinking. In
This Year in School Science. Washington, D.C.: American Association
for the Advancement of Science, in press.
7. E. A. Silver, Using conceptual and procedural knowledge: A focus
on relationships. In J. Hiebert (ed.), Conceptual and Procedural
Knowledge: The Case of Mathematics . Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, 1986, pp . 181-189.
8. J. Dewey, How We Think. Boston: D.C . Heath, 1910; N. R. Hanson,
Patterns of Discovery: An Inquiry Into the Conceptual Foundations of
Science. London: Cambridge University Press, 1961.
9. J. S. Brown, A. Collins, and P. Duguid, Situated cognition and the
culture of learning. Educational Researcher 18, no. 1 (1989) :32-41.
10. S. M . Corey, Poor scholar's soliloquy. Childhood Education 33
(1944) :219-220 .
IIJIII HModel for Acquiring New Hnowledge

11. S. M. Williams, Putting case-based instruction into context:

Examples from legal, business, and medical education. Journal of
Learning Sciences (in press).
12. A. Collins, J. Hawkins, and S.M. Carver, A cognitive appren-
ticeship for disadvantaged students. In B. Means, C. Chelemer,
and M. S. Knapp (eds.), Teaching Advanced Skills to At-Risk Students.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1991, pp. 216-243.
13. Information about the Life Lab Science Program and other project-
based anchors for instruction can be found in Educational Programs
that Work 18. Longmont, Colo.: Sopris West Inc., 1992.
14. Explorations in Science and Problem Solving: The Trouble with Nails. A
production of WCTE public television and Tennessee Technological
University, 1991.
15. Bank Street College of Education, Voyage of the Mimi. Scotts Valley,
Calif.: Wings for Learning, Inc., Sunburst Co.
16. Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, The Jasper experi-
ment: An exploration of issues in learning and instructional
design. In M. Hannafin and S. Hooper (eds.), Educational Technology
Research and Development 40, no. 1 ( 1992) :65-80; Cognition and
Technology Group at Vanderbilt, The Jasper series as an example
of anchored instruction: Theory, program description and assess-
ment data. In R. Lehrer (ed.), Educational Psychologist, in press.
17. SimCity and SimEarth are products of Maxis Software and are dis-
tributed by Broderbund Software.
18. Ada Haynes, personal communication with authors, Cookeville,
Tenn., 1991.
19. J. Dewey, School and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press,
1899, and Democracy and Education: An Introduction to the Philosophy
of Education. New York: Macmillan, 1937.
20. E. Aronson, N. Blaney, C. Stephan, J. Sikes, and M. Snapp, The Jig-
saw Classroom. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage, 1978; D. W. Johnson and
R. T. Johnson, Learning Together and Learning Alone: Cooperative,
Competitive, and Individualistic Instruction (3d ed.). Englewood Cliffs,
N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1991; R. Slavin, An Introduction to coopera-
tive learning research. In R. Slavin, S. Sharan, S. Kagan, R. Hertz-
Lazarowitz, C. Webb, and R. Schumuck (eds.), Learning to
Cooperate, Cooperating to Learn. New York: Plenum Press, 1985.
21. D. W. Johnson and R. T. Johnson, Learning Together and Learning
Alone: Cooperative, Competitive, and Individualistic Instruction (3d ed.).
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1991.
 Instruction That FacilitatesProblem Solving . .

22. E. L. Thorndike, The Psychology of Learning. New York: Teachers Col-

lege, 1931.
23. E. P. Maimon, Writing in the Arts and Sciences. Cambridge, Mass.:
Winthrop, 1981.
24. J. Baron, Evaluating thinking skills in the classroom. In J. Baron
and R. J. Sternberg (eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Prac-
tice. New York: W. H. Freeman, 1987, pp . 221-248.

I Suggested Reading s
Theoretical!~ Oriented Readings
Baron, J. 1987. Evaluating thinking skills in the classroom. In J. Baron
and R. J. Sternberg (eds.), Teaching Thinking Skills: Theory and Prac-
tice. New York: W. H. Freeman, pp. 221-248.
Barrow, H. S. 1985. How to Design a Problem-Based Curriculum for the Pre-
clinical Years . New York: Springer Publishing Co.
Bransford, J. D., S. R. Goldman, and N.J. Vye. 1991. Making a difference
in people's abilities to think: Reflections on a decade of work and
some hopes for the future . In L. Okagaki and R. J. Sternberg (eds.),
Directors of Development: Influences on Children. Hillsdale, N.J.: Law-
rence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 147-180.
Bransford, J.D., R. S. Sherwood, N.J. Vye, and J. Rieser. 1986. Teaching
thinking and problem solving: Research foundations . American Psy-
chologist 41 :1078-1089.
Brown, A. L., and A.M. Palincsar. 1989. Guided cooperative learning and
individual knowledge acquisition. In L. B. Resnick (ed.), Knowing,
Learning, and Instruction: Essays in Honor of Robert Glaser. Hillsdale,
N.J. : Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. )
Charles R., and E. A. Silver (eds.). 1988. The Teaching and Assessing of
Mathematical Problem Solving. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum As-
sociates National Council for Teachers of Mathematics.
Nickerson, R. S., D. N. Perkins, and E. E. Smith. 1985. The Teaching of
Thinking . Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Resnick, L. B., and D. P. Resnick. 1991. Assessing the thinking curric-
ulum: New tools for educational reform. In B. Gifford and C. O'Con-
nor (eds.), New Approaches to Testing: Rethinking Aptitude, Achievement
and Assessment. New York: National Committee on Testing and Pub-
lic Policy.
1111 HModel for Requiring New Hnowledge

Riesbeck, C. K., and R. C. Schank. 1989. Inside Case-Based Reasoning.

Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schoenfeld, A. H. 1989. Teaching mathematical thinking and problem
solving. In L. B. Resnick and L. E. Klopfer (eds .), Toward the Thinking
Curriculum: Current Cognitive Research. Alexandria, Va.: American So-
ciety for Curriculum Development, pp. 83-103.
Simon, H. A. 1980. Problem solving and education. In D. T. Tuma and R.
Reif (eds.), Problem Solving and Education: Issues in Teaching andRe-
search. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 81-96.
 CONCLUDING REMARKS

We wrote this book because of our conviction that much of what we do

in our lives involves problem solving and that everyone can learn to solve
problems more successfully. To accomplish this goal, we must become
more aware of the variety of problems we face in our everyday lives and
of the processes we use in attempting to find creative solutions. This is
why we discussed the IDEAL model of problem solving and illustrated
how it is applicable to many types of problems.
Becoming more aware of the processes underlying problem solving
does not necessarily mean always thinking in detail about these processes
while attempting to solve problems. If you spend all your time analyzing
your thinking processes, you will probably find that it interferes with
your ability to solve problems (try to tie your shoe or drive a car while
consciously analyzing each step). Awareness of the processes that under-
lie problem solving becomes most valuable when you are dealing with
nonroutine problems. If you are observant, you can often catch yourself
failing to ( l) identify potential problems and opportunities, (2) define al-
ternative goals, (3) explore a variety of possible approaches, (4) anticipate
outcomes and act on your ideas, or (5) look at the effects of your actions
and learn. By becoming aware of these components of problem solving,
you will have a much better chance of approaching problems in optimal
ways.
IIDI The Ideal Problem Solver

I The Development of Problem -Solving S~ills

One of our major themes has been that the improvement of problem-
solving skills is an ongoing process. By using the IDEAL model you can
become more aware of the processes involved in identifying opportu-
nities and solving problems, which can improve your ability to notice
possibilities for improvement. We have tried to show how the IDEAL
model provides a framework for enhancing the way we think about a
wide variety of problems. In the first part of the book we discussed how
the IDEAL framework can help us use existing knowledge more effec-
tively to solve problems, and in the second part we discussed how the
IDEAL framework can help us learn new information. One of the most
powerful ways to increase our ability to solve problems is to acquire new
conceptual tools, which can often be very specialized. For instance, if you
want to solve plumbing problems you should learn about the tools and
concepts plumbers use to simplify their tasks. Similarly, improving your
ability to solve other problems may require knowledge of biology, math-
ematics, or finance. It is particularly important to learn new information
with understanding so that knowledge does not remain inert.
In many formal educational settings it is sometimes difficult to see
how concepts and procedures can be used as problem-solving tools. Stu-
dents are often exposed to concepts without having a good idea of the
types of problems they were designed to solve. To be a successful learner,
it is important to identify problems and define goals relevant to the
knowledge you are attempting to master. An effective way to learn,
therefore, is to become familiar with the activities pursued by those who
work in the field you are studying; this can provide a context for more
formal types of study, such as learning from lectures and books. For
example, experience with the everyday problems faced by business ex-
ecutives can provide a context for understanding and evaluating books
on management. If you have an idea of the kinds of problems faced by
executives, you will be in a much better position to determine whether
particular books provide the kinds of conceptual tools executives need.

I Rttitudes
We noted in the first chapter that one of the biggest stumbling blocks to
improving problem solving can be negative attitudes about one's own
abilities. It is easy to tell people to think positively about their ability to
 Concluding Remarks IDII

solve problems, but such a suggestion often has little effect on attitudes
acquired over many years of experience. A lack of confidence in our
ability to solve problems can manifest itself in a variety of ways, including
lack of interest, fear of exploring new domains, and fear of criticism.
These feelings can interfere with problem solving and can prevent us
from engaging in activities that might improve our problem-solving skills.
The IDEAL approach can be especially helpful in these situations because
it provides a guide for debugging unsuccessful approaches. By identifying
the attitudes that inhibit success and defining appropriate goals, we can
begin to explore strategies that may stop us from repeating earlier fail-
ures. By actively using appropriate strategies, we can give ourselves the
opportunity to experience success and so build our self-confidence.
The tendency to avoid new problems becomes especially strong
when others are performing well and we are experiencing considerable
difficulty. In such situations, we often explain our difficulty by assuming
that we are inept or slow and others are talented. An alternative perspec-
tive is that everyone experiences difficulty when dealing with nonroutine
problems or first learning about a new subject. We should not judge our
ability to solve a nonroutine problem by comparing ourselves with those
whose experience makes that same problem routine, or we may mis-
takenly underestimate our own abilities. As you continue to explore
similar problems in the same area of inquiry, you will find that they
become easier and easier to solve as they become more routine for you.
In Chapter 6 we asked you to remember what it was like when you
were first learning to drive a car. If you are like most people, you felt
extremely awkward. You probably had to think consciously about apply-
ing the brake, turning the wheel, using the turn signal, and so forth, and
it was difficult to do something like carry on a conversation while driving.
With practice, however, many aspects of driving became automatic, and
simultaneously driving and carrying on a conversation became routine.
It is useful to keep the driving example in mind when you are trying
to learn new tasks because the experience will almost undoubtedly be
similar. At first, everything will seem overwhelming, and people who can
already perform these tasks may seem almost superhuman. Later, you
will perform them with little difficulty; they will become relatively rou-
tine and require much less conscious attention. Nevertheless, to reach
this stage you must be prepared to go through a period of awkwardness.
You must have the courage to risk making mistakes.
The problem of learning a second language provides an excellent
illustration of the importance of risk-taking. 1 Researchers have found
IIJDI The Ideal Problem Solver

that an important difference between successful and less successful sec-

ond-language learners is that the former will usually make a best guess
about the meaning of an unfamiliar statement when they are not ab-
solutely sure of the answer. In contrast, less successful students often
avoid taking such risks. Similarly, one of the reasons young children
learn so readily seems to be that they are less self-conscious about mak-
ing errors.2 Of course, young children often do not realize that they have
made an error (for example, in interpreting a statement), whereas adults
are more likely to do so. Nevertheless, to be effective problem solvers we
must be willing to take the chance that we may not always be correct.
The IDEAL problem solver realizes that problem solving is a self-correct-
ing activity that allows for improvement only if we are willing to act on
our best ideas.

I Notes
l. I. Rubin, What the "good language learner" can teach us. Teachers
of English to Speakers of Other Languages Quarterly 9 ( 1975 ):41-51.
2. J.D. Bransford and K. Heldmeyer, Learning from children learn-
ing. In G. L. Bisanz and R. Kail (eds.), Learning in Children. New
York: Springer-Verlag, 1983.
 ANSWERS TO PROBLEMS
IN TEXT

Chapter 1
Answer to letter puzzles:
Scrambled eggs Backward glance Banana split

Answer to the bird and train problem:

Since the two train stations are 50 miles apart and the trains are traveling
toward each other, each will travel25 miles before they meet. Both trains
are traveling at the rate of 25 miles per hour, so the time it takes for them
to meet is 1 hour. Since the bird flies at a rate of 100 miles per hour, it will
fly 100 miles before the two trains meet.

Chapter 2
Answer to the boxes problem:
There are 33 boxes (3 large, 6 medium, and 24 small).

Answer to the four chains problem:

The most common tendency is to work only with the end links of each
chain. The solution requires that you open all the links in one of the
chains (for a total of three links open at 2 cents apiece, or 6 cents) . You
can then use three open links to join the remaining three chains together
(for a total of three links closed at 3 cents apiece, or 9 cents).

Answer to the trip to Chicago problem:

You need to take the 6 P.M. dinner flight, which will allow you to arrive at
6 A.M. If you did not arrive until 7:30, you would be late for your meeting,
since you need 20 minutes to get your luggage and 20 minutes more for
_ , . The Ideal Problem Solver

a taxi ride. If you take the 6 P.M . flight, you will not need to buy dinner,
since it is supplied on the plane.

Answer to racquetball tournament problem:

If you assume that only two people will be in the tournament, you will
need only one score card for that match. If three people enter, you will
need two score cards (one for the first match and one for the winner of
that match versus the third participant). If four people enter, you will
need three cards (one for each of the two initial matches and one more
for the match between the winners of the two initial matches). If we let
N stand for the number of people who play in the tournament, the
general pattern for the number of cards needed is N- 1.

Alternative cookbook holder

Thick Lucile pieces fit into solid oak base with 5 notches, move to
accommodate any size book

Rgure R.l A book holder that also guards against stains.

Answer to the cannonball problem:

There are a number of different ways to solve this problem. Here is one.
On the first weighing, try four balls on each side. If the scales balance,
you know that the oddball is one of the four not on the scale. If they do
not balance, you know that the oddball is one of the eight balls on the
scale.
Assume that the scales do not balance. You can now remove four
balls from one side and replace them with the four that have not been
 nnswers to Problemsin Text IB

weighed. Since you know that this new set of four does not contain the
oddball, you can use it as a standard for weight.
For example, assume that you weigh this standard against four balls
and the scales balance. You now know that the oddball is one of the four
you just removed from the scale. If you also note whether these four balls
are heavier or lighter in the second weighing, you will know whether the
oddball is heavier or lighter than the other balls.
Assume that you have now reduced the options to four balls. For
the third weighing, you can weigh two of these balls against two of the
balls of standard weight. If the scales balance you know that the oddball
is one of only two remaining balls. You can then use the fourth weighing
to balance one of these two against one of the standards. If the scales
balance you know that the one remaining ball is the oddball. If they do
not balance, you know that the oddball is the one not on the scale (and
not the standard you have been using). This problem can also be solved
using just three weighings.

Chapter 3
Answer to the Einstein problem:
The clock would appear to be going backwards.

Answer to the bird in the room problem:

The instructor turned out all the lights in the seminar room. The bird
immediately headed toward the light from the window and escaped from
the room through the window.

Chapter 4
Answer to the typing and grades problem:
The relationship between typed papers and higher grades is correlational.
Although it is possible that students get higher grades because they type
their papers, it is equally possible that students who are more serious
about their education are more likely to learn to type, that students who
are more motivated are more likely to take the time to type their papers,
and so on.

Answer to the gas-saving device problem:

You would need to know whether the gas mileage of the two cars was
comparable before the gas-saving device was used. In addition, you would
11JZ1 The Ideal Problem Solver

want to be sure that the device was effective for other makes of cars,
especially your own.

Answer to the rebate problem:

You need to know how many people of each income category purchased
products that had the $1 rebate form. For example, there are probably
fewer people in the higher income category than in the lower and middle
income categories. Furthermore, assume that only 4100 people in the
higher income category purchased the product. If 4000 of them sent for
the rebate, this very high percentage could indicate that people with high
incomes are more likely to send in rebate forms.

Answers to the "If it is a triangle, then it is red" problem (If A, then B):
The first problem (if the shape is not a triangle, is it not red?) can be
expressed as "If A, then B; not A, therefore not B." To reason in this
manner would be to commit the fallacy of denying the antecedent. The
argument is not valid.
The second problem (if the shape is not red, is it not a triangle?) can
be expressed as "If A, then B; not B, therefore not A." This is a valid
argument.

Answer to the mop problem:

Sally used a dirty mop.

Answer to the "John is able to come to the party tonight" problem:

John was originally going to leave town in his car and hence would have
had to miss the party. However, since his car broke down, he could now
attend.

Answer to the wrinkled dress problem:

Jill does not know how to iron.

Answer to the murder problem:

The woman cannot be prosecuted because she is a Siamese twin and the
law prohibits an innocent person from being jailed.

Chapter s
Answer to credits and debits problem:
One strategy is to remember that the word credits has an r in it, so credits
go on the right.
 Answers to Problems in Text IJlil

Answer to the poisonous snakes problem:

One possibility is to create a rhyme, such as "Red and black venom lack;
red and yellow kill a fellow."

Answer to port and starboard problem:

One strategy is to remember, "Left is shorter than right, and port is
shorter than starboard." Another is "Port [a type of wine] should be left
standing before drinking it."

Chapter 7
Answer to the theater joke:
The joke, which was told by Dick Cavett, goes as follows : "I have some
good news and some bad news for people in the balcony. I am not going
to tell you the bad news, but the good news is that the flames won't reach
you for several minutes."

Answer to the card game problem:

If both players remove cards from the table at the same time, neither one
can run out of cards first. Furthermore, what card can be added to the
card with a 0 on it to add up to l 0?
 ANSWERS TO EXERCISES

Chapter 2
1. Most people produce the answer 2, which is wrong. The cor-
rect answer is 0. If you answered 2, you probably failed to
identify a problem with the problem; namely, that it asks
about Adam rather than Noah.
2. This is another example of how people fail to identify of a
problem with their own interpretation. Did you notice the
two the's in the first and third phrases and the two a's in the
second phrase?
3. The inventors of the talking scale seem to have identified
some real problems that people face. For example, an adver-
tisement for a talking scale we saw asks
Can't see over your tummy?
Can't read the numbers way down there?
Can't remember whether you lost weight?
However, there may be some situations in which you would
not want to use this scale. For example, many people would
not want their weight revealed in places where others might
hear it.
4. The inventors of the sound -activated light switch also iden-
tified some problems that this device can help people solve. In
particular, it can
Hear you corning and switch on, so you won't come
home to a dark house or garage.
Surprise burglars who enter your house.
1111 The Ideal Problem Solver

However, the device may not be appropriate for all situations.

For example, the switch will turn off the lights after a short
period of time if it does not continue to detect noise . This
would probably not be appreciated in a reading room.
5. The description of the solar watch cap reads, "Warms head
nicely.... Collector must face south for optimum heating ef-
fect, so rotation of hat or wearer may be necessary in extreme
cold." This item is from a collection of humorous gadgets in
A. Gingold, Items from our Catalog, New York: Avon Books,
1982.
6. This shovel is supposed to help relieve back strain. The adver-
tisement states that the bend in the shovel reduces the
amount of bending you will have to do. We are not sure how
this bend affects the durability and performance of the shovel.
7. These are flip-down makeup glasses. They consist of magnify-
ing glasses on hinges that can be flipped down on one side
when the wearer wants to apply makeup or put on a contact
lens, allowing her to see through the other eye.
8. This is a new kind of chair designed to allow your body to
relax in a position of natural balance. The goal is to help
relieve pain in the back, neck, hip joints, and upper legs.

9. Punctuation marks are designed to solve a general problem

with written language, which is that it loses pauses and tones
of voice that convey questions, exclamations, and so forth.
Punctuation marks supply this information in written form.
10. The important role played by punctuation marks can be ap-
 Answers to Exercises BJII

predated by comparing your comprehension of the string of

words in the text to the following:
That that is is not that that is not.
Is that it? It is!
11. Part of the difficulty with this problem results from incorrect
definition of the problem. Notice that the problem is not to
find the exact spot or time at which the event will occur. In-
stead, the problem is to show that there is a spot that will be
occupied at the same time of day on both trips. The precise
day the trips are made is not especially relevant. One helpful
strategy is to imagine that there are actually two monks
making this trip on the same day; one monk is walking up
the trail, and one monk is walking down the trail. There must
be one spot on the trail where the monks meet.
12. This problem requires a careful scheme for representing all
the information given. Try designing a table in which each
person is represented at the top and side. Then fill in the table
to keep track of which people shook hands with each other.
You can start off by arbitrarily assigning a number to each per-
son. After each such assignment, look back and see if any
specific conclusions can be drawn. Let H = husband and W =
wife.
a. Let H1 be the person who shook hands with eight people.
b. The person who shook hands with zero people had to be his
spouse (W 1).
c. Let H2 be the person who shook hands with seven people.
d. Since everyone else shook hands at least twice, W2 had to
be the person who shook hands once.
e. Let H3 be the person who shook hands with six people.
f. W3 has to be the person who shook hands with two people.
g. Let H4 be the person who shook hands with five people.
h . W4 has to be the person who shook hands with
three people.
i. Let HS be the person who shook hands with four people.
j. WS had to shake hands with four people also.

Since each person the psychologist asked gave a different

answer, the only couple both halves of which could have
11DJ The Ideal Problem Solver

shaken hands four times each would be the psychologist and

his wife (he was the only one about whom we did not have
data). Therefore, his wife shook hands four times.

Couple 1 Couple 2 Couple 3 Couple 4 Couple 5

H1 W1 H2 W2 H3 W3 H4 W4 HS ws
Hl 0 0 X X X X X X X X
Wl 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H2 X 0 0 0 X X X X X X
W2 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H3 X 0 X 0 0 0 X X X X
W3 X 0 X 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

H4 X 0 X 0 X 0 0 0 X X
W4 X 0 X 0 X 0 0 0 0 0

HS X 0 X 0 X 0 X 0 0 0
W5 X 0 X 0 X 0 X 0 0 0

13. This problem can be solved easily by examining specific cases.

Try working out the problem with specific numbers and
various combinations of colored beads, and you will discover
that the answer is yes.

Red-bead jar Blue-bead jar

Assume 50 beads in jar SOR- 5R =45R 50B + 5R

Assume 1 red bead is 45R + (lR + 4B) (50B + 5R)- (lR + 4B)
moved back
Result 46R+4B 46JB +4R

14. Most people have a difficult time solving this problem. The
usual response is that the paper will extend 1 or 2 feet after
 Rnswers to Exercises a.
50 folds. However, a systematic analysis of each step plus
some mathematical tools shows that these answers are way
off the mark.
Consider the following calculations. If the paper is
originally 0.001 inch thick, it is 2 times thicker after folding it
once (2 x 0.001 ). When the paper is folded a second time, it
again becomes twice as thick, which is 4 times the original
thickness; that is, 2 x 2(0.001) inch thick, or 22 (0.001). When
it is folded a third time it becomes 8 times as thick as the
original, or 2 3 (0.001)-this is double the thickness after the
second fold. Similarly, the fourth fold is 2 4 (0.00 1) times as
thick as the original. Thus, 50 folds of the tissue paper would
equal2 50 (0.001), which is about 17,770,000 miles. This is
considerably larger than the 2 or 3 feet of thickness most
people estimate. Indeed, it is more than one-quarter the dis-
tance from Venus to Earth .
15. This problem also requires a systematic analysis of each step
(fish 1 eats two 2s for a total of two 2s, each 2 eats two 3s for
a total of four 3s, each 3 eats two 4s for a total of eight 4s,
and so on. This shows us the beginning of a geometric
progression (2, 4, 8, etc.). Mathematical tools make it much
easier to solve this problem. The formula is 2 6 , for a total of
64 size 7 fish that must be eaten each day.
Incidentally, it is this progression in the food chain that
results in "biological magnification." Even a small percentage
of toxins in a lake can become much more concentrated in
larger fish because they eat a large number of small fish each
day.
16. When the robot is seen in context, some of its design flaws be-
come more apparent. For example, its sponges are too big to
be dipped into its head (the bucket). Furthermore, since the
arms do not bend, the robot will push itself off the building if
it lowers its arms much farther.
Gleaning information from observing things in context is
analogous to acting on the basis of some idea or invention
and then looking at the effects. If we ignore the act and look
components of problem solving, we will often fail to spot
flaws in our ideas. Ideally, we should spot flows by means of
imagination or the use of prototypes so that they can be cor-
rected as soon as possible and with the least expense.
11m TheIdeal Problem Solver

17. The common answer to this problem is 5. However, if you Im-

agine making and smoking the cigars and then look at the ef-
fects, you will see that the correct answer is 6. The man can
make one additional cigar from the butts of the other 5.
18. This is a problem that can be worked backward very easily. If
the greenhouse is completely full on day 29, on the day
before that (day 28) it will be half full.
19. Many people assume that the hospital is for people. In this
case the problem concerns an animal hospital.
20. This problem is often solved incorrectly because people fail to
look back and carefully evaluate their strategy. In fact, an in-
correct answer to this problem was published in Parade
 Rnswers to Exercises IBJI

Magazine. The author of the column "Ask Marilyn" acknow-

ledged the mistake after a reader pointed it out in a letter.
Many people think that the problem states that a hen and a
half produce an egg and a half every day. They then figure
that it will take one hen to produce six eggs in six days. The
problem really states that it will take a day and a half for a
hen and a half to produce an egg and a half. Thus, one and a
half hens should lay the equivalent of one egg every day, or
six eggs in six days.
21 . This is a problem that can be solved by working backward.
On the last move of the game you want to be able to pick up
1 to 5 coins to win. To do that you have to leave your op-
ponent 6 coins on the preceding turn. To be able to leave 6
coins on the previous turn you must leave 12 coins on the
turn before that. The only way you can be certain of leaving
12 coins for your opponent is to make the first move and
remove 3 coins. Of course, if you are playing someone who is
not aware of this strategy, it will be possible to win even if
your opponent goes first, as long as he or she does not
remove 3 coins on the first turn. While this particular version
of Nim is played with 15 coins, other versions can be played
with any number of coins, matches, or other small objects.
The objects are grouped into any number of piles and players
can remove all or part of a pile on each turn. See if you can
find a strategy to win this more general version of Nim. 1
22. This problem can be solved by working out or testing specific
cases. For example, if both people are truthtellers, do the
answers coincide with what they would say? In this case, yes.
Note that if the first person was a liar, the second person
could not be a truthteller, because he or she told you that the
first person was a truthteller. Similarly, if the first person was
a liar, the second person could not be a liar because he or she
told the truth that the first person said he or she was a truth-
teller.
23. This problem can be solved by working backward. The man
paid his last dollar to get out of the third casino . That means
that after he lost half his money at the third casino, he had
$1. He must have had $2 before he lost. Since he paid $1 to
get in, we know that he had $3 after he left the second
casino. Since he had to pay $1 to leave the second casino we
IIJII TheIdeal ProblemSolver

know he had a total of $4 after he lost half of his money

there. This means he must have started with $8. Since he
paid $1 to get into the second casino, we know he had $9
after he left the first casino. He paid $1 to leave the first
casino, which means he had $10 after he lost half of his
money. He must have started with $20 plus the $1 he paid to
get into the first casino. The man started with $21.

Chapter 3
1. Most people generate such inventions as a magnifying glass,
an underwater sound amplifier, or an underwater light. These
are all fine answers, but it is useful to ask whether they are
constrained by any assumptions. For example, these inven-
tions are designed to help people enjoy live fish in an
aquarium. However, the problem of helping people enjoy the
sight of tropical fish in their own homes could also be solved
by an aquarium videotape. In fact, such tapes are on the
market and can be bought in many video stores.
2. The simplest solution is to pour the water from the next to
last glass on the left into the next-to-last glass on the right.
Many people fail to generate this solution because they as-
sume that the water cannot be poured from one glass into
another.
3. Most people generate such reasons as
Wants the exercise.
Needs the exercise.
Wants to surprise you.
Wants to visit someone on the way.
The elevator is broken.
All of these involve assume that the cousin is essentially nor-
mal. An alternative possibility is that the cousin is so short
that he cannot reach the higher buttons. He therefore
punches the highest button he can reach and walks from
there.
4. The most obvious solution to this problem is the one least
often generated. Simply throw the ball straight up in the air.
It will eventually stop and reverse direction.
 Answers to Exercises . .

5. The most common error made with this problem is to assume

that you must stay within the imaginary lines that form the
square. The solution illustrated below is based on going out-
side these lines.

Start here

6. This problem is similar to the classic nine-dot problem in that

people tend to make assumptions that are not necessarily
true and that make a solution impossible. In this case most
people assume that the tire tracks were produced by a car.
The only reason the sheriff knew which man he wanted was
that the tire tracks were produced by a wheelchair, and the
man sitting in the middle of the porch was in a wheelchair. 2
7. A seeming inconsistency in the passage is that the man took
off his overcoat, yet the passage says it was cold and dark. But
assume that the car had fallen into a lake ("his submerged car
came to a halt"). Now the apparent inconsistency between
the low temperature and the act of removing the coat is
resolved.
8. People have difficulty solving this problem when they assume
that the eggs came from a chicken. In this case they were
duck eggs.
9. People have difficulty solving this problem when they assume
that the end of the rope is anchored to something. In this case
it is not.
10. People have difficulty solving this problem when they assume
IIJD The Ideal Problem Solver

that the fall occurred outside the building. In this case it hap-
pened inside.
11 . People have difficulty solving this problem when they assume
that the boys must crawl through the pipe at the same time .
The problem does not state that they must crawl through the
pipe at the same time. It is easy if you assume that Jim crawls
through the pipe first in one direction and then Tom crawls
through the pipe in the opposite direction.
12. They stand back-to-back.
15. He was bald.
16. The new baby was Bill.

Chapter 4
l. This statement encourages the reader to make many inferen-
ces, but what it actually means may be quite different from
those invited inferences. For example, it could mean that
nine out of ten doctors surveyed have at one time or another
recommended this product to at least one person (not neces-
sarily a patient and not necessarily to the exclusion of other
similar products) . It does not necessarily mean that the doc-
tors prefer this product or advise patients to use it more than
they do any other product. Try to think of some unusual
products or substances that could legitimately fit this claim.
2. An advertising claim similar to this was used by the Chrysler
Corporation to promote one of its luxury cars. They com-
pared their car to vehicles manufactured by more recognized
luxury-car makers like Mercedes Benz and BMW. The invited
inference is that the Chrysler product is as good as or better
than the other well-known luxury models, but the factual
evidence does not support such a conclusion. For example, it
would be possible for the Chrysler vehicle to outperform at
least one vehicle on each of the tests and still rank last in
overall performance.
3. Many people who hear this advertisment might conclude that
the Dodge is rated better than cars made by other manufac-
turers. Actually, people were comparing the new Dodge to
their own old cars. It is not surprising that many people
would prefer a new car in place of their old car. People who
hear this ad might also conclude that 70 percent of Toyota
 Rnswersto Exercises 1Jm

and Honda owners prefer a Dodge. Actually, the facts

presented do not specify whether 70 percent of the owners of
each competitor's vehicle preferred a new Dodge or whether
l 00 percent of the owners of two of the competitors' vehicles
preferred a new Dodge and 40 percent of the owners of the
other two competitors' vehicles preferred a new Dodge.3
4. Assuming that all the children were of a comparable age and
received comparable achievement tests, we would still want
to have additional information, especially about the sample of
students tested. Was the average score for American children
lowest because all American children are required to go to
school, even those who are not interested, whereas such
children were not included in the sample from other coun-
tries? Data relevant to this question would include whether
the best American students (the top one-third) did as well as
the best in other countries. This would indicate whether the
average scores say more about sampling than about the
quality of instruction students receive.
5. This is an amazing advertisement. 4 If you read the print care-
fully you will see that this is an ordinary pair of rabbit ears
with a decorative dish on it. The claims are factually accurate
and consistent. Why would anyone purchase one of these
devices?
6. There are a number of problems with this statement. One pos-
sible reason for higher incomes is that the first school may
teach courses (like business) whose majors usually receive
higher salaries than those who major in courses (like educa-
tion) taught by the second school. A second possible reason
may be that the first university has been in operation much
longer, and therefore its graduates have had time to earn
higher salaries because of seniority. A third possible reason
may be that the first university attracts better students in the
first place. They may graduate and earn more only because
they began at a higher level, not because the instructional
program is inherently better.
7. The relationship between grades and computers is correlation-
al. Computers at home could contribute to better grades, but
it is also possible that students who get better grades are more
likely to take an interest in computers, or that parents who
take an active role in their children's intellectual development
1111 The Ideal Problem Solver

influence their children to perform better in school and are

more likely to buy computers to improve the learning en-
vironment at home. If the school board wanted to know if
computers at home actually influenced performance in
school, it would need to conduct a controlled experiment.
8. This finding is part of a series of investigations known as the
Hawthorne studies, which were conducted at the Western
Electric Hawthorne plant. The findings are indicative of what
some have labeled the Hawthorne effect. In these investiga-
tions worker productivity at times improved and at other
times remained unchanged regardless of the illumination
level in which workers operated. For example, in one experi-
ment the lighting was reduced to the intensity of ordinary
moonlight and subjects still maintained their production
level. In another study, when light bulbs were replaced with
bulbs of the same intensity, subjects reported that they liked
the increased illumination. Although it is difficult to draw
clear conclusions from the Hawthorne studies, the findings
suggest that people's performance can be affected when they
think management is interested in their problems. 5
9. No. None of the men who love strawberry pie live on Gorky
Street. See the diagram below.

Figure B.4

Men who live on Gorky Street

Men who love strawberry pie

(Shaded areas denote no members )

 Answers to Exercises . .

10. No. It is possible that some xenos are not red. See the
diagram below.
Figure B.S

Red

(Shaded areas denote no members)

11 . Yes. See the diagram below.

Figure B.6

Zeeps

(Shaded areas denote no members.)

12. No. It is possible that some pennies are not silver. See the
diagram below.

Figure B.7

Silver coins
IIIII The Ideal Problem Solver

13. No. I may have skipped the party yet still failed to do my
homework. The form of reasoning being used here is "If A
(go to party), then B (cannot do my homework)." If one
were to reason "B, therefore A," one would be committing
the fallacy of affirming the consequent.
14. No. There may be other reasons interest rates were raised.
The form of reasoning being used here is "If A (the annual in-
flation rate rises above 7 percent), then B (the Federal
Reserve Bank will raise interest rates)." If one were to reason
"Not A, therefore not B," one would be committing the fal-
lacy of denying the antecedent.
15. No . The form of reasoning being used here is "If A (we put
more money into public education) then B (we will not
necessarily improve education)." If one were to reason "Not
A (we do not put more money into education), therefore not
B (we will necessarily improve education)" we would be com-
mitting the fallacy of denying the antecedent.
16. Although the form of logical reasoning that leads to such a
conclusion is valid, this is a clear case in which not only a
theory but also additional assumptions that relate that theory
to observable data are being tested. For example, it is possible
that the theory is correct and yet injections of RNA will have
no immediate effect on memory. It is also possible that the
site of the injection could be an important determinant of the
effect observed, that the injection must be given several days
in advance, and so forth.
17. It is most likely that the evidence used to support this con-
clusion came from correlational data. It would be unethical to
conduct an experiment in which depression (or any other
variable thought to be responsible for a person's well-being)
was manipulated. In a correlational study it is difficult to
draw conclusions about causality. In this case, it seems pos-
sible that the severity of a patient's illness might be causing
the depression.
18. This game will have no winner, because players will quickly
encounter a situation in which neither player can advance
without breaking the rule of never occupying the same
square simultaneously.
19. The first step is to define the problem. What information is
being requested? Is the problem to differentiate the liar from
 Rnswers to Exercises IDII

the one who is truthful or simply to obtain correct directions?

In the first problem the task is to obtain correct directions.
Since only one question can be asked, the problem really be-
comes "What question will the liar and the one who is truth-
ful both answer correctly?"' Lying is negating the truth, so one
might think about situations in which negation or negatives
can be eliminated. For example, in grammar a double nega-
tive is really a positive and in mathematics multiplying two
negative numbers results in a positive number. To use a
similar strategy in this problem, we would need to ask a ques-
tion that required the liar to lie twice . One way to do this is to
ask a question such as "If I asked you if this was the correct
path would you say yes?"
20. In the second problem the task is really to differentiate the
liar from the brother who tells the truth or to formulate a
question that each will answer differently. This problem is re-
lated to the previous example in that it involves a double
negative-the liar lies but is always misinformed-so that the
answer is correct. When will the two brothers answer ques-
tions differently? Since both the truthful brother and the liar
will give an answer that is usually correct, all we need to do is
ask either of them about themselves or the other brother. For
example, if asked, "Are you a liar?" the truthful brother
would say no. The liar would think he wasn't a liar but would
lie about it and say yes. A question such as "Is your brother a
liar?" will produce similar results.

Chapter G
l. How many stops did the bus make? Most people are not
prepared for this question. They anticipated a different ques-
tion; namely, how many people were left on the bus? Dif-
ferent strategies are necessary to prepare for these different
questions. This is a good illustration of how a strategy may or
may not be the most appropriate depending on the memory
problem one is attempting to solve.
What was the name of the bus driver? Most people have a
difficult time answering this question from memory because
they cannot remember being told anyone's name. If you look
IIIII The Ideal Problem Solver

back at the first sentence of the passage, you will see that the
answer is quite familiar to you.
2. An acrostic for remembering the cranial nerves that has been
around for some time is "On old Olympus' towering tops a
Finn and German vend some hops."
3. A helpful acrostic for remembering whether to set one's clock
forward or back an hour is "Spring forward and fall back."
4. You could combine the rhyming peg-word system (one is a
bun, two is a shoe, and so on) and an acrostic in the follow-
ing manner. Think of the acrostic "You must wear two shoes
to get in the door and stand in line." From the peg-word sys-
tem you know that "two is a shoe" (so two shoes equals 22).
Similarly, you know from the peg-word system that "four is a
door" (so door helps you remember the number 4) and that
"nine is a line" (so line helps you remember 9).
5. You could use acrostics such as "Fir is smooth" and "A rough
hem stands out." For the latter, think of "hem" as short for
hemlock and think of "standing out" as a rough twig.
6. For "across," an example using acrostics is "You only cross the
gate to heaven once." Let "across" remind you of "cross" and
let "once" remind you of the number of c's.
7. For "facilitate," you might say to yourself that "the face of a
penny has one picture of Lincoln." Let facilitate remind you
of "face" and let the thought of one picture of Lincoln (which
begins with an /) remind you that the word contains only one
/.
8. For "development," you might think, "When you want to
develop film, people should not enter the darkroom while the
process is going on." Let "development" remind you of
develop (as in developing the film) and let "do not enter"
remind you of "no e" after the word develop.
9. You might imagine someone climbing a big hill (for the first
part of his last name) and use the sound of the last part of his
name to signify Everest.
10. One possibility is to let the bert part of Hubert remind you of
dirt and to let Booth remind you of boots. Dirt left by boots
needs to be removed, preferably by a vacuum cleaner.
11. You could let John remind you of Johnny Appleseed, and let
Appleseed remind you of the Apple in Apple Computer Cor-
poration. Let the Scull in Sculley remind you of a skull, the
place where human intelligence is located. You can remem-
 nnswers to Exercises . .

ber the computer in Apple Computer Corporation by thinking

of where artificial intelligence is found .
12. For Harriet Eisely you might let her flowing hair remind you
of Harriet and her distinctive eyes remind you of Eiseley.
13 . For Lynn Foreman you might let his big chin remind you of
Lynn (they rhyme) and let his big forehead remind you of
Foreman.
14. For Rose Lipman you could let her round face remind you of
something like "ring around the rosey" and her thin lips
remind you of Lipman.
15 . You can imagine the first letter in dromedary and Bactrian,
capitalized and lying on its side. The D has one hump and
the B has two humps.
16. You might look at the ending of each word. If you can remem-
ber to eliminate the r, one ending sounds like the woman's
name, Jenny (gyny), and the other sounds like the man's name
Andy.
17. Some examples of macros we have found easy to remember
are
CTRL U underline function
CTRLB boldface type
CTRLC center text
CTRL+ superscript text
CTRL- subscript text

Chapter 7
Possible answers include
I. Spider web
2. Lawn sprinkler
3. Parking meter
4 . Wet paint
5. Cement mixer
6. Igloo
7. Bagpipes
Some possible answers are
8. Thermal underwear
9. The inside story
10. Downtown
IIJDI The Ideal Problem Solver

11. Reading between the lines

12. A terrible spell of weather
13. He's beside himself
14. Neon lights
15. As noted in the text, people need to make inferences in order
to comprehend. If they lack the background knowledge, it
must be supplied. The instructions could be improved if they
clarified the need to insert the pencil in the hole, how much
pressure to apply to the pencil, how long to continue crank-
ing, and what to use as a reference in determining the clock-
wise direction. For people who have never used a pencil, it
might also be necessary to clarify the purpose of the pencil
sharpener, the time it will take to perform the operation,
which end of the pencil to insert, and what the finished
product will look like.
16. One way to help children understand the significance of the
previous facts about camels is to help them see how these fea-
tures permit camels to survive in deserts. One characteristic
of deserts is sudden, severe sandstorms that can have adverse
effects on the eyes, nose, and ears. Camels' eyelids, nasal pas-
sages, and ear openings have evolved to protect against
sandstorms.
17. Children who understand the significance of these charac-
teristics of camels should be better able to understand other
facts, such as why people traveling across a desert wear veils
over their faces despite the heat.
18. Many people miss this problem because they fail to gain ac-
cess to knowledge that is potentially available to them. The
most common mistake is to assume that the spy begins drill-
ing inside the left cover of the book on the left and that he con-
tinues drilling until he reaches the right cover of the book on the
right. People who make this mistake have usually failed to im-
agine picking up the first book, opening it, and starting to
read on the first page. The first page is on the right of the first
book. Similarly, the last page of the second book is on its left.
The hole drilled by the spy therefore goes through only two
book covers (each l/4 inch thick), for a total of 1/2 inch.
This example illustrates a common problem. We often fail
to gain access to relevant information (such as where the first
and last pages in a book are found). Once we are prompted to
 Rnswers to Exercises . , _

use this information, our errors seem obvious. The IDEAL

problem solver constantly works to minimize such access er-
rors.
19. Most people can develop effective techniques for remember-
ing this confusing relationship. For example, we have found
that the phrase "During the day, I see light," can be used to
help us remember that during the day the breeze moves from
sea to land. At night, the breeze will move in the opposite
direction. Because these memory strategies do not help us un-
derstand the concept, however, using them will not prepare
us to apply that knowledge to problems. For example, people
who simply memorize the information will probably not
know whether a sea breeze like the one described above will
occur when the sky is very cloudy. In contrast, learning
strategies that enhance our understanding of phenomena will

Figure B.8
1111 The Ideal Problem Solver

prepare us to solve problems. For example, a sea breeze or

thermal breeze is caused in part by air being heated. During
the day, the sun heats the surface of the land faster than the
water. The air above the land, in turn, is heated and rises like
a hot-air balloon. Cooler air above the water moves in to fill
the void, creating a breeze from the sea to the land. See if you
can explain why and when the breeze will move from the
land to the sea at night.

I Notes
1. Nim is described in F. V. Grunfeld, Games of the World: How to Make
Them-How to Play Them-How They Came to Be. New York: Plenary
Publications and Swiss Committee for Unicef, 1975. Grunfeld
notes that the game of Nim was enjoyed for centuries until the
mathematician Charles Leonard Bouton described a formula, in
1901, that ensured victory to any player acquainted with it.
2. Joe Hatcher, personal communication with the authors, 1982.
3. A discussion of this advertisement appeared in the column "Sell-
ing It," Consumer Reports, August 1992., p. 551.
4. Copyright 1989, R. B. M. Limited, 1200 Shames Drive, Westbury,
New York.
5. Many scholars have raised questions about the conclusions that
can be drawn from the Hawthorne studies. See R. Gillespie,
Manufacturing Knowledge: A History of the Hawthorne Experiments.
New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991; S. R. G. Jones,
Was there a Hawthorne effect? American Journal of Sociology
98( 1992):451-468.
 IDEAL PROBLEM
NAVIGATION GUIDE

Identify the problem and explain how it can be an opportunity.

Define at least three different goals for your problem-solving task.

Goall:

Goal2:

Goal3:
Btl The Ideal Problem Solver

Explore possible strategies and new information that could help you
accomplish each of the important goals listed above.

Strategies and information to accomplish Goal 1

Strategies and information to accomplish Goal 2

Strategies and information to accomplish Goal 3

Anticipate the outcomes of different strategies to help you dedde which

ones you will act on.

Strategy
Possible Positive Outcomes Possible Negative Outcomes

Strategy
Possible Positive Outcomes Possible Negative Outcomes
 10m Problem Navigation Guide IEJII

Strategy
Possible Positive Outcomes Possible Negative Outcomes

Strategy
Possible Positive Outcomes Possible Negative Outcomes

Strategy
Possible Positive Outcomes Possible Negative Outcomes

Strategy
Possible Positive Outcomes Possible Negative Outcomes
. . The Ideal Problem Solver

Look back and Learn.

After acting on your strategies, what did you notice about the problem you
identified?

After acting on your strategies, what did you notice about the goals you
defined?

After acting on your strategies, what did you notice about the strategies
you explored?
 IDEAL Problem Navigation Guide a.
After acting on your strategies, what did you notice about your ability to
anticipate their effects?
 AUTHOR INDEX

Abelson, R., 1 91 Bransford, J ., 49, 50, 80, Deal, T., 57, 79

Ackerman, J., 130 110, 129, 160, 191 , de Bono, E., 48, 71, 75,
Adams, J. , 25, 48, 81 192, 193,217,222 80,81
Adams, L., 193 Brittain, J ., 80 Deloache, J ., 193
Amabile, T., 82 Brock, K., 191 Dember, W., 84, 109
Anderson, B., 48, 49, 81, Brown, A., 180, 192, Deutsch, M., 210
110 193,217 Dewey, J ., 83 , 109, 200,
Anderson, H., 81 Brown, J., 200, 215 210, 215, 216
Anderson, R., 129, 130, Brown, S., 82 Diener, C., 15
193 Brown, W., 79 Divine, R., 13
Anderson, T., 129 Bugliosi, V., 85-86, 109 Duguid, P., 200, 215
Arbitman-Srnith, R., 50 Buium, N., 142, 160 Dunker, K., 80
Aronson, E., 210, 216 Dweck, C., 3, 14, 15
Asher, J., 193 Calder, N., 100, 102,
Atkinson, R., 159 110, 117, 129 Egan, D., 111
Auble, P., 191, 193 Campbell, S., 110 Einstein, A., 68
Campione, J ., 193 Einstein, G., 159, 160
Bacon, F., 133, 159 Cannizzo, S., 159 Ellis, A., 11, 14
Ballard, D., 191 Carlson, C., 69 Ellis, H., 161
Barnett, L., 80 Carpenter, P., 193 Elmes, D., 109
Baron, J ., 212,217 Carver, S., 203, 216 Eno, W., 2
Barron, F., 82 Cavett, D., 227 Epstein, W., 193
Barrow, H., 217 Cermak, L., 160, 161
Bartlett, D., 119 Chafe, W., 123, 129 Fader, D., 116, 129
Bassok, M., 191 Charles, R., 217 Parr, M., 4, 14
Beardsley, M., 110 Chase, W., 193 Ferrara, R., 193
Bellezza, F., 160 Chi, M., 4, 14, 174, 191 Fisch, R., 82
Bereiter, C., 57, 79, 129, Chiesi, H., 194 Fivush, R., 191
193, 194 Clark, M., 159 Flavell, J., 159, 180, 192
Berryman, S., 196, 215 Clement, J., 50 Flower, L., 129, 130
Biro, G., 21 Collins, A., 200, 203, Fogelin, R., 110
Biro, L., 21 215, 216 Franklin, B., 62
Blaney, N., 216 Copernicus, N., 72-73 Franks, J., 160, 191,
Bliss, E., 20, 48 Corey, S., 201, 215 192, 193
Bohm, D., 39, 49 Craik,F., 159,161 Freedle, R., 129, 130
Bolman, L., 57, 79 Frensch, P., 50
Bouton, C., 248 Darwin, C., 66, 183
Bower, G., 159, 161 Darwin, F., 192 Gardner, H., 3, 14
Bradshaw, G., 82 Davis, G., 67, 80 Gardner, M ., 81, 110
Brailey, K., 192 Day, R., 30, 48, 178, 192 Garland, C., 53
11m Author Index

Getzels, J ., 82 Jenkins, J., 5, 14, 159 Mandler, G., 50

Gick, M., 192 Joag-Deci, D., 129, 130 Mandler, J ., 50
Gillespie, R. , 248 Johnson, D., 210,216 Markman, E., 193
Gingold, A., 230 Johnson, J ., 111 Marschark, M. 160
Glaser, R., 4, 14, 191 Johnson, M., 129, 191 Matlin, M., 161
Glenberg, A., 193 Johnson, R., 210,216 Mayer, R., 15, 50, 111
Glick, L., 203 Johnson-Laird, P., 50, Mayo, E., 106
Glover, J., 82 111 Mead, M., 210
Goldman, S., 217 Jolley, J., 109 McBurney, D., 109
Gong, G., 81 Jones, S., 248 McCarrell, N., 110, 190,
Goodfield, J ., 81 Jowett, B., 129 191
Gordon, W. , 63, 80, 81 Just, M ., 193 McCloskey, M., 68, 80
Gragg, C., 197, 215 McCormick, K. , 130
Grimes-Farrow, D., 111 Kahneman, D., 111, 159 McDaniel, M ., 159, 160,
Grunfeld, F., 248 Kantowitz, B., 109 161
Gutenberg, S., 62 Kantz, M., 130 McGraw, W., 160
Keeney, T., 159 McKim, R., 81
Halpern, D., 30, 48, 49, Kekule, A., 62 McLennan, B. 6,7, 14
110 Kinzer, C., 49 Mehan, J., 191
Hanson, N., 33, 49, 200 Klatzky, R., 161 Mezynski, K., 191, 193
Harding, H., 70, 81 Klein, H., 129 Michael, A., 198, 215
Harris, R., 193 Koestler, A., 84, 80, 82, Miller, G., 159, 192
Harwood, B., 204 109 Mitchell, M ., 109
Hasselbring, T., 49 Koh, K. , 192 Morris, C., 159
Hatcher, J. , 248 Kuhn, T., 82, 110, 111
Hawkins, J., 203, 216 Kushner, H., 100, 110 Neisser, U., 3, 13, 161
Hayes, J., 30, 48, 49, 61 , Nelson, K., 191
80 LaBerge, D., 159 Newell, A., 14, 19, 48
Haynes, A., 209, 216 Lamon, M. , 192 Newman, E., 119
Health, D., 90 Land, 65 Ng, E., 193
Heimlich, H., 52 Langley, P., 82 Nickerson, R. , 2, 13, 217
Heldemeyer, K., 222 Lewis, M., 191 Nierenberg, G., 80
Hempel, C., 111 Littlefield, J ., 191 Nitsch, K., 80
Higbee, K., 160, 161 Lochhead, J ., 28, 48, 50, Nyberg, S., 161
Hindman, D., 81 110
Holt, J., 10, 14 Lockhart, R., 159, 192 Osborn, A., 63, 66, 80,
Holyoak, K., 192 Long, J ., 14 81
Hudson, J ., 191 Lorayne, H., 151, 160, Owings, R., 160
Huff, D., 109, 110 161
Hull, G., 130 Lucariello, J ., 191 Palincsar, A. , 217
Humphrey, G., 50 Lucas, J ., 161 Parker, F., 210
Hunt, R., 160, 161 Luria, A., 161 Parnes, S., 70, 81
Hyde, T., 159 Lutz, W., 119, 129 Pasteur, L., 93
Paul, R., 111
Janik, A., 110 Maier, N., 59, 79 Pea, R., 77, 81
Jay, A., 51 , 79 Maimon, E., 217 Pearl, S., 130
Jefferson, D., 49 Malthus, T., 66 Peck, W. 130
 Ruth or Index · 11f11

Perfetto, G., 191, 193 Schwartz, D., 3, 14, 73, Tuma, D. , 50

Perkins, D., 50, 52, 79, 81 Tumure, J., 142, 160
82, 217 Scriven, M ., 109, 110 Tversky, A., 111
Petrosino, T., 204 Segal, J ., 50
Pfeiffer, K., 49 Sherwood, R., 32, 49, Van Gundy, A., 80
Plato, 113 191 , 217 Vesonder, G., 194
Poincare, H., 64, 80 Sikes, J ., 216 Voss, J., 50, 194
Polya, G., 19, 48, 49 Silver, E., 199,215, 217 Vye, N., 50, 160, 191,
Pressley, M ., 161 Simon, H., 14, 19, 48, 193, 217
Purdon, S., 192 82, 193, 197, 215,
218 Wagner, R., 3, 14
Radner, D., 109, 110 Slavin, R., 210, 216 Walter, M ., 82
Radner, M ., 109, 110 Slovic, P., 111 Wason, P., 50, 97, 110,
Reed, S., 161 Smith, E., 217 111
Rei£, F., 50 Snapp, M ., 216 Watkins, M. , 159
Reimann, P., 191 Sommers, N., 130 Watlawick, P., 82
Resnick, D ., 21 7 Spilich, G., 194 Weakland, J ., 82
Resnick, L., 2, 13, 187, Steele, J., 120 Weinstein, C., 191
192,217 Steffensen, M ., 129, 130 Weisberg, R., 82
Reusser, K., 196 Stein, B., 50, 160, 191, Wellman, H., 192
Reynolds, C., 82 192, 193 Wells, H., 195
Rieke, R., 110 Stein, M ., 82 Wertheimer, M ., 19, 48,
Riesbeck, C., 218 Stein, V., 130 50
Rieser, J., 191.217 Stephan, C., 216 Wertime, R., 10, 14
Roediger ill, H., 109, Sternberg, R., 3, 14, 49, Whimbey, A., 28- 29, 48,
160, 161 50, 82 110
Ronning, R., 82 Stock, P., 130 Whimbey, L., 28-29, 48
Ross, M ., 203 Whitehead, A., 163,
Roweton, W., 67, 80 164, 190, 197, 200
Rubin, I., 222 Taylor, I., 82 Wickelgren, W., 48, 49
Rubinstein, M ., 49 Teague, G., 49 Wilkinson, A ., 193
Rundus, D., 159 Thorndike, E., 211, 217 Williams, R. , 14
Thurlow, M ., 142, 160 Williams, S. , 202, 216
Scardemalia, M ., 57, 79, Tobias, S., 14 Winograd, E., 161
129, 194 Todd, H., 49
Schank, R., 14, 191, 218 Toulmin, S., 81 , 109, 110 Yates, F. , 160
Schoenfield, A., 196, Tufte, E., 125, 130
215, 218 Tulving, E., 160 Zechmeister, E., 11 t 161
 SUBJECT INDEX

Access and transfer, 163- Balloon passage, 117 ineffective elabora-

164, 183-185, 197- Banquet example, 58 tions, 172
199 Bird in classroom ex- levels of precision,
Analogies, 61-64, 103- ample, 75-76 180-182
104, 117-118 Blindfold example, 211 note taking, 177-179
in communication, Boating accidents ex- significance of relation-
117-118 ample, 89 ships, 170-171, 172-
in creative thinking, Brainstorming, 63 177
61-64 Brainwriting, 63 Computers, 2, 4-6, 89-
critically evaluating, 91, 125-126, 155,
103-104 Career change example, 206,
Arbitrariness in relation- 73 attitudes about, 89-91
ships, 168-169, 171- Chessboard example, 4-6 databases, 155
172,200 Coca Cola example, 33- interactive programs,
Assumptions 34 125
analysis of, 100-104 Communication, 112- multimedia, 126, 206
in comprehension, 128 program debugging, 4-6
102-103 audience, 116-122 Conceptual tools and in-
in creativity, 39-40, computers and multi- ventions, 2, 26--27,
67-69, 72-75 media, 125-126 31-33,220
in statistics, 102 criteria for evaluating, Cooperative learning,
Attention, 10-11, 58, 126-127 210-211
137-138 cross culturaL 120-121 Copernican revolution
Attitudes, 3, 8-12, 51- eye contact, 121 example, 72-73
54, 71, 84, 113-116, goals, 114-126 Correlational data, 89-91
122-123, 185-187, message, 115-116 Courage span, 1 0
206, 220-222 presentation medium, Creativity, 39-40, 51-77,
about communication, 122-126 153-154
113-116, 122-123 speaking, 122-123 blocks, 39-40, 59-60,
about computers, 89- visual aids, 124-125 67-75
91 writing, 123-124 checklists, 66-67
about creativity, 51- Comprehension as prob- in defining goals, 55-
54,71 !em solving, 28-29, 57
about criticism, 84 164-186 in memory strategies,
about learning, 185- Comprehension 153-154
187,220-222 strategies, 102-103, in problem identifica-
about mathematics, 8, 164-186 tion, 52-54
11, 206 debugging, 182-186 strategies, 60-67
about problem solving, explanatory elabora- tests, 54
3, 8-12,220-222 tions, 171-177 writing, 57, 63-64
11m1 Subject Index

Criticism, 39-40, 83-105 decontextualized 98-100, 101-103,

of assumptions, 100- learning, 197 183
104 macrocontexts, 205- Incubation, 64-66
of factual claims, 86- 206 Individual differences, 3-
92 problem-based instruc- 5, 28-29, 115-116,
of ideologies, 84 tion, 200, 202-211 135-137, 172-174,
logic of arguments, 92- problems with tradi- 210, 221-222,
100 tiona! approaches, comprehension, 172-
in science, 39-40, 96- 196-200 174
97, 100 project-based instruc- language learning, 222
Cuban missile crisis, 1-2 tion, 203-204 memory strategies,
selecting anchor 135-137
Debugging, 4-6, 36-37, problems, 209 in problem solving, 3-
182-186 transmission model, 5, 210, 221
learning strategies, 36- 197 reading, 28-29
37, 182-186 Elaboration, 138-142, writing, 115-116
Decision making, 27-31 170- 177 Inert knowledge, 164,
Defining goals, 24-27, Encoding, 142 197-198
55-60,84-104,114- Evaluating strategies, 33- Inference, 166-167
122, 134-135, 163- 39, 119-220 Insight, 64
165,170,174-177, Experimental method, Intelligence and problem
199,203,207 90-91 solving, 3-4
Divergent thinking, 54 Explorations in science Inventions and dis-
Discoveries (see Inven- and problem solving coveries, 2, 20-23,
tions) project, 204 25, 35, 52-53, 62,
Discovery Rochester 66, 68-69, 100
project, 203 Failing to identify ballpoint pen, 21
Doublespeak examples, problems, 22-24 benzene in chemistry,
119-120 Fear of failure, 11, 121- 62
122 black holes in
Economics example, Focus groups, 37, 70, 127 astrophysics, 100
115-116 Forgetting, cue-depend- bottle opener, 23
Education and problem ent, 142-144, 156, cookbook holder, 35
solving, 195-215 185 environmentally
applications problems, Forgetting hypothesis ex- friendly packaging
198-200 ample, 184 material, 53
apprenticeship Fractionation, 61 frying pan splatter
models, 202 Functional fixedness, 59- screen, 21, 25
assessment issues, 60 Heimlich maneuver,
211-213 52-53
case-based instruction, Gas mileage example, language, 2
202 26-27 lightning rods, 62
computer simulations, Gold example, 181 magnetic key case, 23
206-207 Graphs, 88, 124 medicine clock, 23
cooperative learning, Gravel pit example, 183 number systems, 2
210-211 printing press, 62
debates as anchors for Idea killers, 63 relativity, 68-69
instruction, 204-205 Inconsistencies, 73-74, solar car ventilator, 23
 Subject Index lflDI
theory of evolution, 66 Memorization versus un- Problem avoidance, 8-9,
traffic signs, 2 derstanding, 163- 10-11
xerography, 69 167, 170-171, Problem, definition of, 7
Invited inferences, 87-88 174-177 Problem identification,
Memory span, 13 7 20-24, 52, 55, 84,
Jargon, 119-120 Memory strategies, 135- 113-114, 134, 164,
Jasper Woodbury Series, 155,169-170 199, 203, 207
206 acronyms, 152-153 Problem representation,
acrostics, 152-153 29-30
Knowledge, role in prob- categorization, 13 5- Problems in text, 5-7, 9,
!em solving, 4-5, 136 11, 22, 24-26, 28-
31-33,58,117-121, developing your own, 34, 37, 55, 59, 61,
139-142, 166-168 153-154 67-68, 72, 74, 92,
elaboration, 138-142 98, 102, 117, 135,
Language learning, 221- external storage, 154- 138-140, 142-144,
222 155 146-150, 153-154,
Language therapy ex- image-name tech- 164, 167-169, 173,
ample, 198 nique, 149-150 178, 182, 196
Lateral thinking, 75 imagery, 144-149 argon passage, 167
Learning to learn, 187 method of loci, 144- arbitrary sentences,
Learning set, 60 145 168-169
Levels of understanding, for names and faces, automobile injuries,
180-182 149-150 25-26
Life lab science program, organization, 135-136 ball and cliff, 67-68
204 peg word, 135, 145-146 balloon passage, 117
Lifelong learning, 186- picture equivalents, bank failures, 22
187 151-152 bird and train, 11
Lock combination ex- rehearsal, 136-13 7 boxes, 29
ample, 134 selective rehearsal, 136 bruised tomatoes, 25
Logic, 92-98, 101 Mental escapes, 10 cannonball, 37
antecedent, 95 Metacognition, 180 card game, 182
assumptions, 101 Milk allergy example, 163 chains, 30
conclusion, 93 Models, 31 checkers, 72
consequent, 95 Mousetrap example, 101 Chicago meeting, 31
fallacy of affirming Murder trial, 85-86, 103 dock-relativity, 68-69
consequent, 96-97 dog door, 6-7
fallacy of denying Nim, 49 gas-saving device, 92
antecedent, 96-97 grocery store problem,
if-then arguments, 95- "One shot" thinking, 29 55
98 inconsistent state-
major premise, 92 Peer review, 212 ments, 102
minor premise, 92 Physics examples, 67- if-then problem, 98
Long-term memory, 137 69, 100 Indiana Jones, 32
PMI strategy, 71 IX to six, 72
MAP acronym, 114-115, Poor scholar's soliloquy, memory tasks, 135,
127-128 201 139-140, 142-144,
Math anxiety, 8, 11 Predictions, 67-69 146-147, 148-149,
Mathematics example, 64 Prejudice example, 209 153-154
IIlii Subject Index

Problems in text (con- Reasoning, 92-100 Subgoals, 27-29

tinued) Rehearsal, 136-137, Syllogistic reasoning, 92-
murder without being 169 98
jailed, 102 Retrieval processes, 142- categorical, 93-94
passage with no e's, 138 144 conditional, 95-98
perceptual patterns, 33 Risk taking, 221-222
racquetball tourna- Routine and nonroutine Tax loophole example,
ment, 31 problem solving, 5- 120
rebates and income, 92 7, 57-60, 114, 141- Tetrahedral model of
reduce sound from 142,219,221 problem solving, 6
highways, 61 Thirsty ant passage, 166
refrigerator, 74 Thought experiments, 68
remembering facial Scissors example, 174- Tool set example, 98-99
features, 149 175 Tree diagram, 178-179
remembering names, Self-fulfilling prophecies,
150 3-4,8
robot passage, 173 Short-term memory, Understanding (see Com-
Sally passage, 164 137 prehension)
scrambled words, 5 Simcity simulation, 207
ship problem, 196 Simearth simulation, 207 Valid and invalid argu-
shopping cart theft, 34 Simulations, 31 ments, 92-98
superpsychic, 72 Social loafing, 21 0 Venn diagrams, 93-95
theatre joke, 178 Sports psychology Vertical thinking, 75
turn signal, 9 workshop example, Veins and arteries ex-
two cord problem, 59 9 ample, 168
typing and grades, 92 Strategies, general, 27- Videodisc technology, 206
waste disposal, 24 31 Voyage of the Mimi pro-
which day, 28 external repre- gram, 206
wrong number, 22-24 sentation, 29-30
Proverbs, 99-100 specific case, 31
systematic analysis, Wedding ceremonies ex-
Reading comprehension, 27-29 ample, 120-121
28-29, 164-167, working backward, Whistle-blowers Protec-
172-177 30-31 tion Act, 53