Abstract
This research was designed to focus on the effects of problem structure on the behavior of subjects solving that problem. The behavior of forty-five adult subjects solving the 4-ring Tower of Hanoi problem was exhibited as paths through the “state space representation” of the problem. Four hypotheses concerning the effects of the problem's structure were tested experimentally. (1) Subjects' paths were both non-random and goal-directed through the problem and its subproblems and the special role of subgoal states was identified. (2) “Episodes” were seen to occur during problem solving corresponding to the consistent solution throughout the problem of subproblems with identical or isomorphic structure, however, (3) the evidence for congruence of subjects' non-minimal solution paths through isomorphic subproblems was inconclusive. (4) The special effect on behavior of symmetries within the structure of the problem was delineated. Directions for further research are outlined.
Published Version
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