TY  - JOUR
A1  - Kistner, Saskia
A1  - Burns, Bruce D.
A1  - Vollmeyer, Regina
A1  - Kortenkamp, Ulrich
T1  - The importance of understanding: Model space moderates goal specificity effects
T2  - The quarterly journal of experimental psychology
N2  - The three-space theory of problem solving predicts that the quality of a learner's model and the goal specificity of a task interact on knowledge acquisition. In Experiment 1 participants used a computer simulation of a lever system to learn about torques. They either had to test hypotheses (nonspecific goal), or to produce given values for variables (specific goal). In the good- but not in the poor-model condition they saw torque depicted as an area. Results revealed the predicted interaction. A nonspecific goal only resulted in better learning when a good model of torques was provided. In Experiment 2 participants learned to manipulate the inputs of a system to control its outputs. A nonspecific goal to explore the system helped performance when compared to a specific goal to reach certain values when participants were given a good model, but not when given a poor model that suggested the wrong hypothesis space. Our findings support the three-space theory. They emphasize the importance of understanding for problem solving and stress the need to study underlying processes.
KW  - Goal specificity
KW  - Problem solving
KW  - Three-space theory
KW  - Scientific discovery learning
Y1  - 2016
UR  - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/45240
SN  - 1747-0218
SN  - 1747-0226
VL  - 69
SP  - 1179
EP  - 1196
PB  - Optical Society of America
CY  - Abingdon
ER  -