Research Groups: Acquisition, Representation and Use of Knowledge; and Representation of Space and Time in Cognitive Processes

Visual analogical reasoning Angela Nachtigall Issue. Recent theories about analogical reasoning (Holyoak, 1989/95, Gentner, 1983/89) specify constraints (structure, surface properties and purpose) and steps (selection, mapping, evaluation, transfer, learning) during the process of analogical reasoning. Mostly they a concerned with solving verbal coded tasks. In every day life and science, additional visual analogies play an important role, but deserved no or minor attention in existing models.

In GrKK since 5/97 as Ph.D. student

Goal: The present work aims at modifying present theories about analogical reasoning to integrate visual analogies taking into consideration the advantages and disadvantages of pictures.

Method: Experimental subjects have to solve some geometrical problems, for instance the farm-problem and the tree-planting-problem (Dreistadt, 1969). As a support in solving the problem the subjects get one of 4 systematically varying pictures showing some/all aspects of problem structure.

Problems: It is most challenging to identify all relevant dimensions and to seperate problem structure and surface properties.

Results (so far): Not all aspects of the problem structure are equally relevant. Corresponding to this fact, the first experiment has shown, that not every picture is equally helpful during the problem solving process. Moreover it is more difficult probands than expected for the experimental subjects to identify mappable information, to transfer it and to solve the problems.