Abstract
Research on Bayesian reasoning suggests that humans make good use of available information. Similarly, research on human information acquisition suggests that Optimal Experimental Design models predict human queries well. This perspective contrasts starkly with educational research on help seeking, which suggests that many students wait excessively long to ask for help, or even decline help when it is offered. We bring these two lines of work together, exploring when people seek help as a function of problem state in the Entropy Mastermind code breaking game. The Entropy Mastermind game is a probabilistic version of the classic code breaking game, involving inductive, deductive and scientific reasoning. Whether help in the form of a hint was available was manipulated within subjects. Results showed that participants tended to ask for help late in the game play, often when they already had all the necessary information needed to crack the code. These results pose a challenge for the Bayesian and Optimal Experimental Design frameworks and highlight the importance of considering whether other forms of help could be more effective.
Highlights
Help seeking is an important aspect of the learning process in allowing an individual to advance their understanding (Nelson-Le Gall, 1985), and develop their independent skill and abilities (Newman, 1994)
Help Seeking in Entropy Mastermind and decision making processes exist (Roberts, 1993; Smith, 2001), we largely focus on probabilistic Bayesian models
The participant was given a laptop on which the Mastermind app was installed and displayed
Summary
Help seeking is an important aspect of the learning process in allowing an individual to advance their understanding (Nelson-Le Gall, 1985), and develop their independent skill and abilities (Newman, 1994). Research suggests that people often do not effectively utilize opportunities for help or even ignore them altogether (Aleven et al, 2003). In an analysis of students’ help seeking behavior through completing computer tasks, a clear pattern emerged: students would attempt a task, they would be provided with feedback and the offer of help, and they would decline the help (du Boulay et al, 1999). These findings highlight the importance of establishing when people ask for help and what factors may influence the help seeking process
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