1997/04/01 by Jiajie Zhang · 548 citations
paper · doi:10.1207/s15516709cog2102_3
published in Cognitive Science 21(2), 179-217 (Wiley)
crossref issued 1997/04/01 · crossref published 1997/04/01 · crossref published-online 1997/04/01 · crossref published-print 1997/04/01 · crossref created 2005/08/06 · crossref deposited 2024/10/26 · crossref indexed 2026/07/31
This article proposes a theoretical framework for external representation based problem solving. The Tic‐Tac‐Toe and its isomorphs are used to illustrate the procedures of the framework as a methodology and test the predictions of the framework as a functional model. Experimental results show that the behavior in the Tic‐Tac‐Toe is determined by the directly available information in external and internal representations in terms of perceptual and cognitive biases, regardless of whether the biases are consistent with, inconsistent with, or irrelevant to the task. It is shown that external representations are not merely inputs and stimuli to the internal mind and that they have much more important functions than mere memory aids. A representational determinism is suggested—the form of a representation determines what information can be perceived, what processes can be activated, and what structures can be discovered from the specific representation.