Research
ARC Lab Research Interests
Problem solving comes in many forms. When thinking about problem solving, the first thing that comes to mind may be a math problem, such as one might find in an algebra class. Others may think of reasoning problems, where the goal is to figure out patterns and relationships to finish a sequence or solve a puzzle. Still others may think of creative problems – situations or riddles with no obvious solution. Each of these problems seems to draw upon different processes in order to reach a solution, and people vary considerably in their ability to solve each type. The goal of our research is to understand not only the processes underlying successful problem solving, but also to determine why individuals differ in their ability to succeed on problem solving tasks.
The Attention, Reasoning, and Creativity (ARC) Lab explores several types of problem solving, including analytic (as one might see on an intelligence test), creative, and mathematical. Much of this work is conducted through the lens of individual differences, focusing primarily on working memory capacity and attention. In particular, our work has focused on the specific processes and strategies required to solve different kinds of problems, and how working memory capacity and attention both aid and hinder those processes.
Focused Research Topics
Attention and Reasoning
Our research on attention and reasoning has primarily focused on understanding the role that attention plays in complex reasoning tasks. For example, though it has long been understood that individual differences in working memory capacity are related to performance on fluid intelligence tasks such as the Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices, the mechanisms driving this relationship are unclear. Viewing working memory from an attention control framework, our lab has explored the susceptibility of low working memory individuals to attentional capture while solving matrix reasoning problems (Jarosz & Wiley, 2012), as well as whether differences in strategy could explain the working memory/fluid intelligence relationship (Jarosz, Raden, & Wiley, 2019).
Attention and Creativity
Like our work regarding reasoning, our research on attention and creativity focuses on the attentional mechanisms underlying creative processes. One overarching perspective is that having greater control of attention may in fact be detrimental when it comes to completing creative tasks (Wiley & Jarosz, 2012). Various experiments have used instructional manipulations (Aiello, Jarosz, Cushen, & Wiley, 2012) as well as alcohol intoxication (Jarosz, Colflesh, & Wiley, 2012) to influence attentional states, and have demonstrated that a decrease in attentional control can often be beneficial on creative problem solving tasks. Current work uses a latent variable approach to explore how cognitive mechanisms interact during creative tasks (Dygert & Jarosz, 2019).
Learning in Mathematics
In addition to work exploring reasoning and creativity, our lab is currently exploring problem solving in mathematics. Previous work has explored the impact of expertise and collaboration during learning-by-invention tasks (Jarosz, Goldenberg, & Wiley, 2017). Currently, our work is exploring the role of attention in understanding and completing word problems, particularly in the presence of irrelevant information (Jarosz & Jaeger, 2019). Other interests include how the presentation of word problems might impact solvers' likelihood of building inappropriate problem representations.