Abstract
In a modification of an earlier study, Ss were presented with problems consisting of five words varying in printed language frequency. In different groups, Ss tried to guess the Word at a particular frequency level in each problem. The words used within a problem were structurally more similar to each other than had been the case in the previous study. The result was that, in the present experiment, the word-frequency dimension emerged even more clearly as a habit strength variable in problem solving.
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References
Dominowski, R. L. Problem difficulty as a function of relative frequency of correct responses. Psychonomic Science, 1965, 3, 417–418.
Duncan, C. P. Response hierarchies in problem solving. In C. P. Duncan, (Ed.), Thinking: Current experimental studies. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1967. PP. 18–41.
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Thorndike, E. L., & Lorge, I. The teacher’ s word book of 30,000 words. New York: Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University, 1944.
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Thanks are due Donald Lehr, John Perrachione, and Constance Duncan.
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Duncan, C.P. Word frequency in problem solving. Bull. Psychon. Soc. 4, 93–94 (1974). https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334206
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03334206