This paper explores the idea that problem solving search strategies are chosen so as to optimize performance within the constraints of a particular situation. Four experiments are reported that examine the hypothesis that the cost of performing an operation affects “planfulness”—the level of planning during problem solving. The first experiment investigated problem solving with the 8-puzzle and compared strategies adopted when there was a high versus a low cost of making a move, manipulating cost in terms of command length. The second experiment used protocol analysis to provide more direct evidence for increased planning. The third and fourth experiments looked at the effects of these different strategies on learning: the third examined how problem solving performance on a direct manipulation interface is affected by prior problem solving experience in the same domain with either a high cost or low cost command-driven interface, demonstrating improved performance as a result of training on an interface with high cost operations; the fourth experiment, like the third, examined the effects of prior problem solving experience with either a high cost or low cost interface on subsequent problem solving performance in a different domain using a direct manipulation interface showing no effect of training interface on subsequent performance.
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