Problem Structure And Problem Solving Behavior

One of the most interesting questions in the study of human problem solving is the nature of the Interaction between a problem's intrinsic structure and a problem solver's strategies or behaviors. The present paper suggests the use of techniques developed in research in mechanical problem solving to assist in formulating and illuminating this question. The authors also seek to develop a relationship between artificial intelligence methods and 'structuralist' theories of cognition by relating groups of symmetry transformations and 'conservation' operations.