Self vs . Other - Generated Hypotheses in Scientific Discovery

Other-generated hypotheses are often considered easier to test than self-generated hypotheses. To determine the precise effects of other-generated hypotheses, we propose three kinds of effects and describe a study designed to test for these effects of hypothesis source. The three kinds of effects considered are: (i) hypothesis plausibility changes, (ii) skepticism changes, and (iii) process changes. Forty-two undergraduate subjects were given a microworld discovery task called Milktruck. Subjects either had to generate their own initial hypothesis or were given the most frequently generated hypothesis. It was found that the othergenerated hypothesis lead to more thorough investigation of hypotheses, resulting in a decrease in false terminations with incorrect solutions. The results suggested these effects were caused by an increase in skepticism rather than changes in hypothesis plausibility or process changes.