A Cognitive Model of Visual Analogical Problem-Solving Transfer

Complex problem solving typically involves the generation of a procedure consisting of an ordered sequence of steps. Analogical reasoning is one strategy for solving complex problems, and visual reasoning is another. Visual analogies pertain to analogies based only on visual knowledge. In this paper, we describe the use of Galatea, a computational model of visual analogies in problem solving, to model the problem solving of a human subject (L14). L14 was a given the task of solving a complex problem using analogy in a domain that contained both visual and non-visual knowledge, and was encouraged to use visual analogy. We describe how Galatea models L14's use of visual analogy in problem solving.