ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we discuss human reasoning and problem solving. The reason for not doing so earlier in the volume is that most cognitive psychologists believe that complicated reasoning, such as that displayed by lawyers, judges, and scientists can best be understood by reducing it to elementary actions of memory, perception, and knowledge organization. Therefore, it makes sense to look at these functions first, and then look at complex cognition. This opinion is not universally shared. Some psychologists argue that everyday reasoning is so complex that it can only be understood by studying it directly. This still permits laboratory research, but only when the behaviors being studied are very challenging. An example would be a study of how participants played a complex computer simulation of decision making, such as the decision making of an industrial plant manager. Another group of psychologists argue that everyday behavior is tightly constrained by the situation in which it occurs, including the social situation. According to this group, cognition is situated in the place it occurs. Therefore, school and workplace cognition should be studied in the field rather than the laboratory.
