A Group of Participants Has Just Completed a Series of Problems

question 3

Multiple Choice

A group of participants has just completed a series of problems involving water jars. In each problem, the participants needed to fill the largest jar, pour from it once into the middle-sized jar, and then pour from the largest jar twice into the smallest jar. The participants are now given a new problem, which cannot be solved via this procedure. We would expect that the participants will

• A) quickly solve the new problem because they have had practice with a series of very similar problems.
• B) have difficulty with the new problem because they are now locked into the procedure they used successfully.
• C) behave just as participants who have no experience with water jar problems; that is, there will be no effect of the prior training.
• D) try their already practiced procedure and, once they realize this procedure does not help them, they will show no effect of the prior training.

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Definitions:

Mental Faculties

The various capabilities of the mind, including perception, reasoning, memory, and judgment.

Environmental Input

Information or stimuli received from one's surroundings, which can influence development and behavior.

Mental Modules

Hypothetical structures in the human mind thought to manage specific tasks, reflecting an aspect of evolved psychological functions.

Privileged Domains

Cognitive domains that call on specialized kinds of information, require specifically designated forms of reasoning, and appear to be of evolutionary importance to the human species.