<p>I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, but the big umbrella term in the literature for puzzles like the Tower of Hanoi is <code>problem solving</code>. </p>

<p>A Google Scholar search for "tower of hanoi" and "problem solving" generates <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22tower+of+hanoi%22+%22problem+solving%22&amp;btnG=&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C15&amp;as_vis=1" rel="nofollow">~5000 hits</a>. Another related puzzle is the Tower of London, and that Scholar search generates an additional <a href="https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22tower+of+london%22+%22problem+solving%22&amp;btnG=&amp;hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C15&amp;as_vis=1" rel="nofollow">~5000</a>.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-18T13:30:48.447Z
I'll add more details later today, but I'm kind of looking for a term and studies that focus on going from exploratory searching of a problem, to combining chains of moves or strategies (chunking? procedural learning? hierarchical reinforcement learning? instruction based learning?) when one becomes efficient at the problem
Seanny123
CC BY-SA 3.0
2015-06-18T13:26:00.987Z
2015-06-18T13:26:00.987Z
Josh
<p>I would like to build a cognitive model that is able to learn how to solve a complex puzzle such as the tower of Hanoi based off of limited feed-back (set of valid moves, closer to goal, farther from goal). I have found some references for learning the Tower of Hanoi and the performance of schizophrenics, but I was wondering if there was a particular name for the type of learning I'm looking for (advanced reinforcement learning?) and if there are further studies on how people learn these types of puzzles.</p>

<cognitive-psychology><learning><reference-request><experimental-psychology>
Studies of how people learn to solve puzzles
Seanny123
# Studies of how people learn to solve puzzles

(Asked by: username_0 on 2015-06-18)

I would like to build a cognitive model that is able to learn how to solve a complex puzzle such as the tower of Hanoi based off of limited feed-back (set of valid moves, closer to goal, farther from goal). I have found some references for learning the Tower of Hanoi and the performance of schizophrenics, but I was wondering if there was a particular name for the type of learning I'm looking for (advanced reinforcement learning?) and if there are further studies on how people learn these types of puzzles.

**Tags:** cognitive-psychology, learning, reference-request, experimental-psychology


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2015-06-18. Score: 1

I'm not sure if this is what you are looking for, but the big umbrella term in the literature for puzzles like the Tower of Hanoi is `problem solving`.

A Google Scholar search for "tower of hanoi" and "problem solving" generates [~5000 hits](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22tower+of+hanoi%22+%22problem+solving%22&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C15&as_vis=1). Another related puzzle is the Tower of London, and that Scholar search generates an additional [~5000](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=%22tower+of+london%22+%22problem+solving%22&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C15&as_vis=1).

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: I'll add more details later today, but I'm kind of looking for a term and studies that focus on going from exploratory searching of a problem, to combining chains of moves or strategies (chunking? procedural learning? hierarchical reinforcement learning? instruction based learning?) when one becomes efficient at the problem  

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