ABSTRACT
Do people solve inferential problems in everyday life by using abstract inferential rules or do they use only rules specific to the problem domain? The view that people possess abstract inferential rules and use them to solve even the most mundane problems can be traced back to Aristotle. In modern psychology, this view is associated with the theories of Piaget and Simon. They hold that, over the course of cognitive development, people acquire general and abstract rules and schemas for solving problems. For example, people acquire rules that correspond to the laws of formal logic and the formal rules of probability theory. Problems are solved by decomposing their features and relations into elements that are coded in such a way that they can make contact with these abstract rules.
