Problem Solving and the Ability to Find Replacements

Problem situations of the practical construction type may be regarded as situations characterized by a ‘missing part’. The solution of a problem depends on the subject's awareness of what is missing, along with his ability to find a replacement for it. Scores on a test measuring this ability are compared with performance on two practical construction problems. Subjects who are successful on the problems have a higher mean score on the ‘replacement test’. Scores on a ‘function‐naming’ test are not found to correlate with performance on the problem.