Reasoning as an Associative Process: I. “Direction” in a Simple Verbal Problem

Abstract

Two investigations are described in which series of verbal classification problems were used to study two hypotheses concerning the nature of set or direction in problem solving. The evidence is considered to support the hypotheses, which state that direction is a function of priority of stimulus activation of response systems under certain conditions and of activation of strong and pervasive response systems previously acquired by Ss under other conditions.