Biomedical subjects

R Catrambone

Publications and source records attributed to R Catrambone.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Reasoning about curvilinear motion: using principles or analogy.

People possess implicit theories about the motion of objects, theories that are often incorrect. When asked to predict the path of an object emerging from a curved tube, for example, people often say that the object will continue to follow a curved path. However, when solving a problem that reminds them of a familiar previous instance, people often reason by analogy to the instance. In this study, we show that a previous instance must be very superficially similar to a problem in order to be used as an analogy; otherwise, people will use their implicit theories as the basis of their reasoning.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Improving examples to improve transfer to novel problems.

People often memorize a set of steps for solving problems when they study worked-out examples in domains such as math and physics without learning what domain-relevant subgoals or subtasks these steps achieve. As a result, they have trouble solving novel problems that contain the same structural elements but require different, lower-level steps. In three experiments, subjects who studied example solutions that emphasized a needed subgoal were more likely to solve novel problems that required a new approach for achieving this subgoal than were subjects who did not learn this subgoal. This result suggests that research aimed at determining the factors that influence subgoal learning may be valuable in improving transfer from examples to novel problems.

Adult↗

PubMed1993

Aggregation bias and the use of regression in evaluating models of human performance.

Regression analyses are increasingly being used to provide confirmatory evidence for models of human performance. The amount of information made available to judge these models is reduced because clearly established standards in the techniques of performing and reporting regression analyses are lacking. This paper addresses two primary problems in regression analysis: aggregation of data and the aggregation of variables into composite models. We provide examples of the misuse of regression techniques and recommend ways in which the amount of information made available to evaluate the model being tested can be maximized in analysis and reporting.

Bias↗

PubMed1990

Learning subgoals and methods for solving probability problems.

We hypothesize that typical example problems used in quantitative domains such as algebra and probability can be represented in terms of subgoals and methods that these problems teach learners. The "quality" of these subgoals and methods can vary, depending on the features of the examples. In addition, the likelihood of these subgoal's being recognized in novel problems and the likelihood of learners' being able to modify an old method for a new problem may be functions of the training examples learners study. In Experiment 1, subjects who studied examples predicted to teach certain subgoals were often able to recognize those subgoals in nonisomorphic transfer problems. Subjects who studied examples demonstrating two methods rather than one exhibited no advantages in transfer. Experiment 2 demonstrated that if the conditions for applying a method are highlighted in examples, learners are more likely to appropriately adapt that method in a novel problem, perhaps because they recognize that the conditions do not fully match those required for any of the old methods. Overall, the results indicate that the subgoal/method representational scheme may be useful in predicting transfer performance.

Adult↗