Research on problem solving has given scant attention to retrieval of specific past experience as a problem solution; yet many types of problems are solved in this fashion including some aspects of mathematical problem solving. Recent research in memory has discovered a dissociation between implicit and explicit retrieval of specific past experience by testing for those experiences with problems to be solved versus explicit memory tests. The dissociations include different effects of certain study variables and different subjective experiences for implicit and explicit tests. The proposed research is designed to examine the effects of implicit and explicit retrieval within a traditional problem solving paradigm. The outcome of this research could be important for educational application to problem design to maximize the effects of prior experience and minimize negative subjective experience with the problem. The long-term goal is to apply this approach to simple mathematics and assess its implications for math anxiety.
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