Hypothesis analysis of conjunctive concept-learning situations

Abstract

Presents mathematical expressions for a taxonomy of conjunctive concept-learning situations, giving the number of possible hypotheses concerning the problem rule as a function of the task informational variables. The number of initially possible hypotheses is shown to be a function of preproblem knowledge of the number of relevant dimensions, the type of initial focus stimulus, and the problem parameters. During problem solution, reduction in the number of possible hypotheses is shown to be a function of the interstimulus similarity. Optimal stimulus selection procedures and expressions for the expected trial of solution are derived for various task situations involving the selection paradigm. (16 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved). © 1971 American Psychological Association.