  We examined how introductory physics students' attitudes and approaches to
problem solving compare to those of introductory astronomy students, using a
previously validated survey, the Attitudes and Approaches to Problem Solving
(AAPS) survey. In addition, we compared the performance of the introductory
physics and astronomy students on the factors which were identified in a factor
analysis in the original validation study. We found that introductory astronomy
students' overall average AAPS score was significantly more favorable than that
of introductory physics students (p < 0.01), and the effect size was large
(Cohen's d = 0.81). We also found that introductory astronomy students' scores
were more favorable in all clusters of questions except for one factor
involving drawing diagrams and writing scratchwork while solving problems. We
also found that introductory physics and astronomy students were equally
capable of solving two isomorphic problems posed to them, and that the majority
of introductory physics and introductory astronomy students reported that the
problem posed in the astronomy context was more interesting to them. Interviews
suggest that the context of astronomy in problem solving may be more
interesting for students and could be one possible explanation for the more
favorable AAPS scores amongst introductory astronomy students compared to
introductory physics students. Instructors of introductory physics courses
should heed these findings which indicate that it may be beneficial for
instructors of introductory physics courses to incorporate problems into their
instruction which contain real-world contexts, which may serve to increase
student interest-level, and which could help create more favorable attitudes
and approaches towards problem solving.
