抄録
The present study was intended to investigate the applicability of the behavioristic analysis of selection strategies (BASS) to the problem solving situation. The tasks given to Ss were detection of the figure designated ‘dax’ by the E among the 32 figures used. In every trial, the S was once allowed to ask the E whether ‘dax’ was contained in the group of figures selected at S's option. The S was instructed to select figures repeatedly so that he could find ‘dax’ in the smallest number of trials possible. Two experimental conditions were used. The task in Cond. I did not need the S's memory loading for the outcome of preceding selections, and inversely, the task in Cond. II needed it. A total of forty medical undergraduate students served as Ss and each of them was given three tasks in each condition. Each response was classified into one of the nine strategic elements that were defined on the basis of the probability with which the selected instance would be positive, and each sequence of the strategic elements was classified into one of the fourteen strategic types. Furthermore, the sequences of the strategic elements were vincentized into eight sections. The main results were as follows.
1) The frequency of appearance of E was the highest among the all elements, and that of G(-) ranked next in both conditions. However, the percent appearances of E gradually increased along the vincentized sections, in contrast with a gradual decrease with G(-). These trends were analyzed in comparison to the expected percent appearances of the strategic elements calculated on the assumption of random responses. As regards the distribution of the strategic types, the appearance of {E} was the most frequent and that of {G(-)} ranked next in both conditions.
2) The percent appearances of E in Cond. I were higher than those of E in Cond. II in all the eight vincentized sections. With respect to the distribution of the strategic types, the number of the Ss who used {E} in the Cond. I was greater than in the Cond. II.
3) Generally the Ss who used {E} needed fewer trials to solve the problems than the Ss who used {G(-)}. Both the areas of error in memory and the redundant components were larger in the responses of the Ss who were late in solving the problems.
4) It seemed that the numbers of the hypotheses selected by the Ss showed a sort of curvilinear regression on the numbers of remaining hypotheses instead of showing a monotonically increasing function.
5) As regards to the ingredients contained in a response such as the perfect or imperfect error in memory and the objective or subjective redundant component, it was found that the occurrence of these ingredients were slightly more frequent in the responses occurring near the middle of the problem solving processes.
Lastly, the availability of several indices adopted in the BASS was discussed from the methodological point of view.
