ABSTRACT
Chapter 2 introduces the current theory of problem solving and discusses how this research is struggling with addressing representational change. Specifically it discusses Newell and Simon’s theory of problem solving as heuristic search in problem spaces and research on insight. While the former focusses solely on solving so-called well-defined problems, insight problem solving does in fact involve representational change, albeit in limited form. The chapter explains how these limitations are not purely the result of research focus, but are imposed by the requirements of experimental methodology in modern cognitive psychology.
