Showing papers on "Adaptive reasoning published in 1972"

Human Problem Solving

Abstract: : The aim of the book is to advance the understanding of how humans think. It seeks to do so by putting forth a theory of human problem solving, along with a body of empirical evidence that permits assessment of the theory. (Author)

Trust and Managerial Problem Solving

Abstract: This paper presents a model of trust and its interaction with information flow, influence, and control, and reports on an experiment based on the model to test several hypotheses about problem-solving effectiveness. The subjects were managers and the independent variable was the individual manager's initial level of trust. Groups of business executives were given identical factual information about a difficult manufacturing-marketing policy problem; half the groups were briefed to expect trusting behavior, the other half to expect untrusting behavior. There were highly significant differences in effectiveness between the high-trust groups and the low-trust groups in the clarification of goals, the reality of information exchanged, the scope of search for solutions, and the commitment of managers to implement solutions. The findings indicate that shared trust or lack of trust apparently are a significant determinant of managerial problem-solving efectiveness.1

The four-card problem and the generality of formal reasoning

Abstract: Three experiments were designed to investigate the failure of intelligent adults to solve an apparently simple problem of formal reasoning devised by Wason. Both the mode of presentation and the type of material reduced the difficulty of the problem, while retaining its essential form. However, success on the original problem remained at a low level, even when subjects had attempted an easier version and had been given an explanation. These results enable one to reject a “strong” formulation of Piaget's theory of formal reasoning. A “weaker” formulation is suggested as a basis for further research.