ABSTRACT
The theory of problem solving in 1970--and especially the part of it that is empirically validated--is primarily a theory that describes the problem spaces and problem-solving programs, and shows how these adapt the information-processing system to its task environment. At the same time that it has answered some basic questions about problem-solving processes, the research has raised new ones: how do problem solvers generate problem spaces; what is the neurological substrate for the serial, limited-memory information processor; how can our knowledge of problem-solving processes be used to improve human problem solving and learning? Each node in a problem space may be thought of as a possible state of knowledge to which the problem solver may attain. But the subject of internal representation links problem-solving research with two other important areas of psychology: perception and psycholinguistics. The theory of problem solving gives a new basis for attacking the psychology of education and the learning process.
