Question

Metcalfe and weir gave participants problems to solve and asked them to make "warmth" judgements every 15 seconds to indicate how close they felt they were to a solution. The purpose of this experiment was to?

1) demonstrate a difference between how people solve insight and non-insight problems
2) show how people progress through the problem space as they solve a problem
3) show that some problems are easier to solve than others
4) measure the time-course of the process of restructuring

Answer 1

Metcalfe and Weir's experiment aimed to show the difference in solving insight versus non-insight problems by having participants make 'warmth' judgements, reflecting their subjective sense of nearing a solution.

Step-by-step explanation:

The experiment conducted by Metcalfe and Weir, involving participants making 'warmth' judgements every 15 seconds to indicate the proximity to the solution of a problem, aimed to demonstrate a difference between how people solve insight and non-insight problems. These judgements were essentially subjective indicators of the participant's feeling of getting closer to the answer. Insight problems typically involve a sudden 'Aha!' moment, whereas non-insight problems are solved through a more gradual and analytical process. The purpose was to explore the dynamic nature of the problem-solving process by observing and measuring these warmth ratings, which provided an insight into the participant's cognitive processes as they worked towards the solution.