What Responses to Domain-Specific Analogy Problems Reveal about Emerging Competence: A New Perspective on an Old Acquaintance

The authors conducted 2 studies to investigate the categorization of students' correct and incorrect responses to domain-specific analogy problems. In Study 1, participants were 6th graders who generated answers to classical analogy problems in the domain of human biology (e.g., cabin:log::skeleton:_). Study 2 focused on the analogical problem solving of undergraduates working in the domain of educational psychology. The basis for categorizing responses in both studies was a 7-level hierarchical response model proposed by P. A. Alexander (1990). Cross-study results provided support for the response categories and for their hierarchical nature. Study 1 indicated that students' answers to analogies were nonrandom in that there were within-subject error preferences. In Study 2, student responses reflected training in domain concepts and strategic processes, and the direction of changes matched expectations of the ordered hierarchical response scheme.