Promoting spontaneous analogical transfer by idealizing target representations.

Recent results demonstrate that inducing an abstract representation of target analogs at retrieval time aids access to analogous situations with mismatching surface features (i.e., the late abstraction principle). A limitation of current implementations of this principle is that they either require the external provision of target-specific information or demand very high intellectual effort. Experiment 1 demonstrated that constructing an idealized situation model of a target problem increases the rate of correct solutions compared with constructing either concrete simulations or no simulations. Experiment 2 confirmed that these results were based on an advantage for accessing the base analog, and not merely an advantage of idealized simulations for understanding the target problem in its own terms. This target idealization strategy has broader applicability than prior interventions based on the late abstraction principle because it can be achieved by a greater proportion of participants and without the need to receive target-specific information. We present a computational model, SampComp, that predicts successful retrieval of a stored situation to understand a target based on the overlap of a random, but potentially biased, sample of features from each. SampComp is able to account for the relative benefits of base and target idealization, and their interaction.

¿Torbellino de ideas o razonamiento mediante analogías? Evaluación de la eficacia de dos modos de pensamiento para promover la creatividad / A brainstorming or analogical thinking? Evaluation of the effectiveness of two ways of thinking to promote creativity

Una pregunta extendida en el campo de la creatividad es qué tipo de pensamiento se debiera fomentar en las personas para que sean más creativas. Se llevó adelante un experimento en el que un grupo de participantes se enfrentó a un problema de tipo mal definido y debió resolverlo aplicando la técnica de creatividad conocida como torbellino de ideas, que implica el uso de un pensamiento de tipo extraordinario. Otro grupo debió resolver el problema transfiriendo una solución conocida dada a un problema análogo, lo que supone un modo ordinario de pensamiento. La creatividad de las soluciones propuestas fue evaluada por jueces expertos. El análisis de datos no arrojó diferencias entre las condiciones, por lo que ambos modos de trabajo resultaron igualmente efectivos para promover la creatividad. Se discuten las implicancias de los resultados obtenidos para las teorías que buscan explicar el pensamiento creativo y las posibles formas de fomentarlo. (AU)

An overextended question in the field of creativity is which kind of thinking should be encouraged for people to be more creative. An experiment was conducted in which one group of participants had to solve an ill-defined problem by applying a creativity technique known as brainstorming, which implies the use of extraordinary thinking. A second group had to solve the problem by transferring a known solution from an analogous problem, which implies the use of ordinary thinking processes. Expert judges rated the creativity of solutions proposed by participants for the given problem. Data analysis showed that there were no differences between both experimental conditions. Thus, both working modalities were shown to be equally effective to promote creativity. Implications of these findings for the existing theories on creative thinking are discussed. (AU)

El papel de la similitud de objetos en el pensamiento analógico: el enfoque de la asignación categorial / The role of object similarities on analogical thinking: the category assignment approach

El objetivo de este trabajo fue determinar el efecto que las similitudes de objeto tienen sobre las evaluaciones de calidad de una analogía. Los participantes divididos en dos grupos puntuaron en qué medida consideraban que ciertos pares de hechos eran análogos. Mientras que al primer grupo se les resaltó la relación implicada en las situaciones a comparar, al segundo se les enmarcó dicha comparación en una categoría relacional de esquema. Las evaluaciones de calidad del primer grupo fueron mayores cuando las situaciones comparadas involucraban objetos taxonómicamente similares, efecto que no fue hallado en el segundo grupo. En este grupo, lo que afectó la evaluación de las analogías fueron las similitudes de objeto relacionadas con una dimensión de la categoría esquemática que enmarcaba la comparación. Los resultados se interpretan desde un enfoque alternativo sobre el razonamiento analógico ­el enfoque de la asignación categorial. Se discuten implicaciones para este campo disciplinar. (AU)

The present study was aimed at assessing the effect of object similarities in evaluations of the quality of analogies. Two groups of participants received pairs of situations with the task of assessing the extent to which they considered them to be analogous. Whereas in the first group the relation involved in the situations to be compared was highlighted, in the second group comparisons were framed by a schema-governed category. Quality evaluations of the first group were higher when the compared situations involved taxonomically similar objects, but no such effect was found within the second group. In this group, the evaluations of the quality of analogies were affected by object similarities related to central dimensions of the framing schema-governed category. We explain these findings within an alternative perspective on analogical reasoning­ the category assignment approach. Implications for this field of research are discussed.(AU)