The Thinking Aloud Technique and Problem Solving Ability

The effects of overt verbalization anti practice on problem solving ability were examined. The 100 secondary school students who served as Ss were divided into four groups: (1) those who received practice word problems and solved problems while thinking aloud, (2) those who did not practice but solved problems while thinking aloud, (3) those who practiced but did not verbalize, and (4) those who received no practice and did not verbalize. Analysis of variance revealed that neither overt verbalization nor practice significantly influenced problem solving scores. However, Ss who were required to think aloud made significantly more computational errors than those who worked without verbalizing.