Abstract
During the problem solving process, cues are used to guide the solvers’ attention, helping to retrieve information related to the solution. Little is known, however, about how the involved mental processes unfold. The present study begins by proposing a “model for solving three-dimensional space problems” (STSP), consisting of the following stages: define the problem, integrate text and diagram, and solve the problem. The present study analyzes the problem solving process for a three-dimensional space problem with eye movement monitoring, and investigates the effectiveness of cues related to the text and diagram information for successful and unsuccessful problem-solvers. Sixty-eight undergraduates were recruited as participants and classified into four groups: successful problem solvers in the non-cues (SNC); unsuccessful problem solvers with non-cues (USNC); successful problem solvers with cues (SC), and unsuccessful problem solvers with cues (USC). The problem solving process was divided into two stages: the solving stage and the answering stage. Eye movement data for the four groups was analyzed for the two stages. The statistical software R was used to analyze the data. Turning to the results, in the stage of ‘defining the problem’, first past gaze duration data indicated that the SNC group relied on textual information. In the stage ‘integration of text and diagram’ stage, run counts revealed that all four groups relied on both textual and diagram information, shifting their view back and forth and combining the information in the text and diagram areas; in the stage of ‘solving the problem’, the percentage of total viewing duration and total fixation count showed that the SNC group equally used the information in both area but the remaining three groups mainly used the information in the diagram area. In conclusion, the SNC group had longer first past gaze duration in the text area and spent more time defining the problem; but the SNC group had a lower total fixation count and lower percentage of total viewing duration than the SC group in the diagram area, suggesting that for the performance of the SC group, cues influenced them to invest more cognitive processes in the diagram area. Future studies might find it worthwhile to investigate the effects of feedback on performance. In particular, it would be useful to see whether and how feedback helps less successful solvers to clarify the problem. Future research might also explore the influence of prior knowledge and discuss the differences between expert and novice strategies.