Bruner's claim that cognitivism has become fractionated and technicalized was examined by a review of the research on problem solving transfer. Objectives, methodology and results were analyzed leading to the conclusion that the claim is justified. The cognitivist investigations examined were methodologically very controlled in their experimental conditions, but the same rigor was not observed in theoretical matters, such as a precise definition of transfer, producing dispersed data. Also, a strong emphasis in investigating transfer as a result of stimulus manipulations was found evaluated in single session investigations, and considered only as performance of undergraduates, revealing an empiricist view of the process.
Cognitive psychology; problem solving transfer; reasoning by analogy
