ABSTRACT
The notion of a problem space is well known in the area of problem solving research, both in cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence. The Problem Space Hypothesis is enunciated that the scope of problem spaces is to be extended to all symbolic cognitive activity. The chapter is devoted to explaining the nature of this hypothesis and describing some of its potential implications, with no attempt at a critical marshalling of the evidence pro and con. Two examples are used, one a typical problem solving activity (the Tower of Hanoi) and the other syllogistic reasoning. The latter is an example where the search behavior typical of problem spaces is not clearly in evidence, so it provides a useful area to explore the extension of the concept. A focal issue used in the chapter is the origin of the numerous flow diagrams that serve as theories of how subjects behave in tasks in the psychological laboratory. On the Problem Space Hypothesis these flow diagrams derive from the interaction of the task environment and the problem space.
