Transfer of Old Associations to New Problems

Abstract

Two experiments, involving 120 subjects, examined the influence of previously established associations on solution of the candle-on-the-wall problem. In Exp. I, subjects first learning a list-embedded, relevant association were more likely to solve the problem than control subjects who had learned a list-embedded, irrelevant association. The facilitative effect was greatest when subjects were informed, prior to the attempted solution, that one member of the list of associations could help them solve the problem, but the facilitative effort did appear even when subjects were uninformed. In Exp. II, where a verbal rather than a spatial problem was used, facilitation only occurred in the informed condition, underlining the importance of the relationship between the demands of a problem and the characteristics of prior associations.