Source processing influences analogical problem solving

Four experimental conditions were devised to test the hypothesis that the solution of a target problem is affected by the way in which a source story structurally similar to that problem has been previously elaborated. In the literal recall condition, undergraduates were requested to memorize the source in detail. In the schematizing condition, they had to identify the essential features of the source. In the evaluation condition, they were asked to judge the adequacy of the source. In the control condition, they had to read and recall a story with no correspondence to the target. The highest frequencies of analogical solutions occurred in the schematizing and evaluation groups. Data suggest that a deep and abstract representation facilitates the use of the source in problem solving.