Anagram solutions as a function of task variables and solution word models.

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Abstract
Conducted a factorial experiment with 192 undergraduates which combined solution-word frequency, pre-problem-solving tasks, and spelling ability. The 20 solution words consisted of 10 high-frequency and 10 low-frequency words. The 3 tasks required Ss to copy words prior to anagram solving which were either irrelevant to the solution words, were made up of 3 or 4 similar letters arranged in a different order, or were in an order comparable to the solution words. Ss were divided into good and poor spellers on the basis of a recognition test of spelling which contained correctly and incorrectly spelled words. Results are consistent with the notion that Ss compare attempted solutions with some model words which are stored in their memory system. The task variable was effective in part. The similar-word task resulted in better problem solving due to its cuing function, while the similar-letters task had no significant effect. High word frequency resulted in better performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

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