This paper presents a computer simulation of context effects on problem solving with AMBR — a model of human analogy-making. It demonstrates how perceiving some incidental objects from the environment may change the way the problem is being solved. It also shows that the timing of this perception is important: while the context element may have crucial influence during the initial stages of problem solving it has virtually no effect during the later stages. The simulation also explores the difference between an explicit hint condition where the focus of attention is drawn towards a context situation which is analogous to the target problem and an implicit context condition where an arbitrary object from the environment makes us remind an old episode.
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