The Interaction of Internal and External Representations in a Problem Solving Task

In these studies I examine the role of distributed cognition in problem solving. The major hypothesis explored is that intelligent behavior results from the interaction of internal cognition, external objects, and other people, where a cognitive task can be distributed among a set of representations, some internal and some external. The Tower of Hanoi problem is used as a concrete example for these studies. In Experiment 1 I examine the effects of the distribution of internal and external representations on problem solving behavior. Experiments 2 and 3 focus on the effects of the structural change of a problem on problem solving behavior and how these effects depend on the nature of the representations. The results of all studies show that distributed cognitive activities are produced by the interaction among the internal and external representations. External representations are not simply peripheral aids. They are an indispensable part of cognition. Two of the factors determining the performance of a distributed cognitive system are the structure of the abstract problem space and the distribution of representations across an internal mind and the external world.