Question

Only about 10% of participants solve the "tumor problem" on their own with no further information from the experimenter. Which of the following is most likely to help participants solve the problem?

a.
The experimenter must also present participants with an analogous problem to which they already know the solution.


b.
The experimenter must instruct participants to change their problem-solving set for the "tumor problem."


c.
The experimenter typically must instruct participants to step away from the problem and do something else for a while, then come back to it.


d.
The experimenter must also present participants with an analogous problem to which they already know the solution and explicitly tell participants to use this analogous problem to help them solve the "tumor problem."

Answer 1

The best approach to aid participants in solving the "tumor problem" is to provide them with a similar problem they know how to solve and instruct them to use it to find a solution.

Step-by-step explanation:

When participants struggle to solve a problem like the "tumor problem," which option is most likely to help them find a solution? The answer is (d) The experimenter must also present participants with an analogous problem to which they already know the solution and explicitly tell participants to use this analogous problem to help them solve the "tumor problem." By drawing parallels between the known solution of the analogous problem and the current problem, participants can transfer understanding and apply similar problem-solving strategies to reach a solution more effectively.