How knowing the rules affects solving the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices Test

The solution process underlying the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices (RAPM) has been conceptualized to consist of two subprocesses: rule induction and goal management. Past research has also found a strong relation between measures of working memory capacity and performance on RAPM. The present research attempted to test whether the goal management subprocess is responsible for the relation between working memory capacity and RAPM, using a paradigm where the rules necessary to solve the problems were given to subjects, assuming that it would render rule induction unnecessary. Three experiments revealed that working memory capacity was still strongly related to RAPM performance in the given-rules condition, while in two experiments the correlation in the given-rules condition was significantly higher than in the no-rules condition. Experiment 4 revealed that giving the rules affected problem solving behavior. Evidence from eye tracking protocols suggested that participants in the given-rules condition were more likely to approach the problems with a constructive matching strategy. Two possible mechanisms are discussed that could both explain why providing participants with the rules might increase the relation between working memory capacity and RAPM performance.