Immediate and sustained effects of planning in a problem-solving task.
In 4 experiments, instructions to plan a task (water jugs) that normally produces little planning altered how participants solved the problems and resulted in enhanced learning and memory. Experiment 1 identified planning strategies that allowed participants to plan full solutions to water jugs problems. Experiment 2 showed that experience with planning led to better solutions even after planning was no longer required, whereas control participants showed little improvement. Experiments 3 and 4 showed that although the most recent planned solution could be recalled following a long filled retention interval, retroactive interference (RI) between successive problems resulted in much lower recall of earlier solutions. RI during plan generation could also explain participants' choice of depth-first planning strategies.
Delaney
Peter F
PF
Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-2250, USA. delaney@ufl.edu
Ericsson
K Anders
KA
Knowles
Martin E
ME
D002755:Choice Behavior; D006801:Humans; D011939:Mental Recall; D011340:Problem Solving