Abstract
All subjects received a group of problems (traditional) which could be solved using a reference rule of conjunction or disjunction, and another group of problems (intradimensional) which could be solved either by one of the reference rules or by a structurally simpler rule. Analysis confirmed that adults were not only adept at solving on the basis of the simpler rule but that, when they did so, it led to no differences in performance between conjunction and disjunction. The usual finding of conjunction being easier than disjunction was obtained only for the traditional problems. These results replicated the findings of Ciborowski and Cole (1973). In the present experiment however, the basic experimental procedure explored the influence of positional cues and past instances of the concept to be learned. These two variables were not investigated by Ciborowski and Cole and they represented a possible confounding influence. Analysis of subjects' performance using the modified procedures supported the earlier findings.
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