Abstract
We argue that in some situations solutions to target problems can be generated based on perceptual simulations of analogous but superficially dissimilar source problems. Unlike processes associated with perceptually neutral representations, those associated with perceptual simulations should be highly sensitive to context, whether conveyed through textual, visual or physical mediums. Consistent with this claim, we found that when the context of a source problem was manipulated to accentuate kinesthetic structure, people were more likely to generate solutions to an analogous problem. We also found that subjects who drew diagrams of solutions to source problems were most likely to transform them into solutions to an analogous problem when the contextual properties of their diagrams afforded such transformations.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Barsalou, L.W., 1992, Frames, concepts, and conceptual fields, in: Frames, Fields, and Contrasts: New Essays in Semantic and Lexical Organization, E. Kittay and A. Lehrer, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 21–74.
Barsalou, L.W., 1993, Structure, flexibility, and linguistic vagary in concepts: Manifestations of a compositional system of perceptual symbols, in: Theories of Memory, A.C. Collins, S.E. Gathercole, and M.A. Conway, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum, London, pp. 29–101.
Barsalou, L.W., 1999, Perceptual symbol systems, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 22:577–609.
Beveridge, M. and Parkins, E., 1987, Visual representation in analogical problem solving, Memory and Cognition 15:230–237.
Bower, G.H. and Morrow, D.G., 1990, Mental models in narrative comprehension, Science 247:44–48.
Bransford, J.D., Barclay, J.R., and Franks, J.J., 1972, Sentence memory: A constructive versus interpretive approach, Cognitive Psychology 3:193–209.
Clement, C.A. and Gentner, D., 1991, Systematicity as a selection constraint in analogical mapping. Cognitive Science 1:89–132.
Craig, D.L., Catrambone, R., and Nersessian, N.J., under review, The role of implicit perceptual factors in analogical problem solving.
Davies, J., Nersessian, N.J., and Goel, A.K., 2001, Visual models in analogical problem solving, Georgia Institute of Technology Cognitive Science Technical Report GIT-COGSCI-200I/03.
Fincher-Kiefer, R., 2001, Perceptual components of situation models, Memory and Cognition 2:336–343.
Franklin, N. and Tversky, B., 1990, Searching imagined environments, Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 119:63–76.
French, M.J., 1994, Invention and evolution: Design in nature and engineering, Cambridge University Press, New York.
Gentner, D., 1983, Structure-mapping: A theoretical framework for analogy, Cognitive Science 7:155–170.
Gentner, D., Rattermann, M.J., and Forbus, K.D., 1993, The roles of similarity in transfer: Separating retrievability from inferential soundness, Cognitive Psychology 25:524–575.
Gentner, D. and Stevens, A.L., eds., 1983, Mental Models, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Gick, M.L. and Holyoak, K. J., 1980, Analogical problem solving, Cognitive Psychology 12:306–35.
Gick, M.L. and Holyoak, K.J., 1983, Schema induction and analogical transfer, Cognitive Psychology 15:1–38.
Glenberg, A.M., 1997, What memory is for, Behavioral and Brain Sciences 20:1–19.
Glenberg, A.M., Meyer, M., and Lindem, K., 1987, Mental models contribute to foregrounding during text comprehension, Journal of Memory and Language 26:69–83.
Holyoak, K.J., and Koh, K., 1987, Surface. and structural similarity in analogical transfer, Memory and Cognition 15:332–340.
Iverson, J.M. and Goldin-Meadow, S., 1997, What’s communication got to do with it? Gesture in children blind from birth. Developmental Psychology 33:453–467.
Johnson, M., 1987, The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination, and Reason, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Johnson-Laird, P.N., 1983, Mental Models: Towards a Cognitive Science of Language, Inference, and Consciousness, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Keane, M., 1985, On drawing analogies when solving problems: A theory and test of solution generation in analogical problem-solving tasks. British Journal of Psychology 76:449–458.
Klatzky, R.L., Pellegrino, J.W., McCloskey, B.P., and Doherty, S., 1989, Can you squeeze a tomato? The role of motor representations in semantic sensibility judgments, Journal of Memory and Language 28:56–77.
Kosslyn, S.M., 1994, Image and Brain: The Resolution of the Imagery Debate. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA.
Krauss, R.M. and Hadar, U., 1999, The role of speech-related arm/hand gestures in word retrieval, in: Gesture, Speech, and Sign, L.S. Messing and R. Campbell, eds., Oxford University Press, New York, pp. 93–116.
Lakoff, G., 1987, Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal about the Mind, University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Lakoff, G. and Johnson, M., 1998, Philosophy in the Flesh, Basic Books, New York.
Mandler, J.M., 1992, How to build a baby: II. Conceptual primitives, Psychological Review 4:587–604.
Minsky, M., 1975, A framework for representing knowledge, in: The Psychology of Computer Vision, P.H. Winston, ed., McGraw Hill, New York, pp. 211–277.
Nersessian, N.J., 1999, Model-based reasoning in conceptual change, in: Model-Based Reasoning in Scientific Discovery, L. Magnani, N.J. Nersessian, and P. Thagard, eds., Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, New York, pp. 5–22.
Palmer, S.E., 1975, Visual perception and world knowledge: Notes on a model of sensory-cognitive interaction, in: Explorations in Cognition, D.A. Norman and D.E. Rumelhart, eds.. Freeman, San Francisco, pp. 279–307.
Pedone, R., Hummell, J.E., and Holyoak, K. J., 2001, The use of diagrams in analogical problem solving, Memory and Cognition 29:214–221.
Rumelhart, D.E. and Ortony, A., 1977, The representation of knowledge in memory, in: Schooling and the Acquisition of Knowledge, R.C. Anderson, R.J. Spiro, and W.E. Montague, eds., Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ, pp. 99–136.
Schank, R. and Abelson, R., 1977, Scripts, Plans, Goals and Understanding: An Inquiry into Human Knowledge Structures, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Schwartz, D.L. and Black, J.B., 1996, Analog imagery in mental model reasoning: Depictive models. Cognitive Psychology 2:154–219.
Smith, E.S. and Medin, D.L., 1981, Categories and Concepts, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
van Dijk, T.A. and Kintsch, W., 1983, Strategies of Discourse Comprehension, Academic Press, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Craig, D.L., Nersessian, N.J., Catrambone, R. (2002). Perceptual Simulation in Analogical Problem Solving. In: Magnani, L., Nersessian, N.J. (eds) Model-Based Reasoning. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0605-8_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0605-8_10
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-5154-2
Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-0605-8
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive