Abstract
The present article reports two experiments investigating the influence of natural order of events on the acquisition and use of knowledge about operations, in short mental operators. The principle of use specificity states that task performance depends directly on the similarity between acquisition context and the present situation. In contrast, the principle of natural order proposes that knowledge about operations can always be applied easier (faster) if reasoning follows the natural order of events. In Experiment 1, participants had to apply alphabet-arithmetic operators and LISP functions in a prognosis task (A + 2 = ?) or a retrognosis task (? - 2 = A). In alphabet-arithmetic, an advantage for the first kind of task at the beginning of training decreased with increasing practice. In LISP, however, a preference for this task (corresponding with a prospective knowledge use) emerged with increasing practice. In Experiment 2, arithmetic relations between digit pairs had to be induced. In a causal context condition, relations were described as input and output of electric circuits, in a neutral context the relations were described as arithmetic dependencies. A preference for the prognosis task was found for the causal context condition (corresponding with a prospective knowledge use) but not for the neutral one. The findings suggest that the natural order of events moderates the acquisition and use of mental operators. Further research is required to clarify the bases for this moderation.
Published Version
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