---
title: "Elements of a Theory of Human Problem Solving"
authors:
  - "Allen Newell"
  - "J. C. Shaw"
  - "Herbert A. Simon"
year: 1958
venue: "Psychological Review"
arxiv: null
doi: "10.1037/h0048495"
source: "https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048495"
topics:
  - cognitive-architecture
  - newell-simon
  - problem-solving
seed_rank: 583
seed_batch: "foundations-greats-2026-08-13"
reviewed: "2026-08-13"
pool: "agents"
relevance_score: 9
lineage: foundations-of-computing
cites:
  - title: "The Logic Theory Machine: A Complex Information Processing System"
    url: "https://doi.org/10.1109/TIT.1956.1056797"
    year: 1956
    arxiv: null
    doi: "10.1109/TIT.1956.1056797"
  - title: "Report on a General Problem-Solving Program"
    url: "https://iiif.library.cmu.edu/file/Simon_box00008_fld00538_bdl0001_doc0001/Simon_box00008_fld00538_bdl0001_doc0001.pdf"
    year: 1959
    arxiv: null
    doi: null
see:
  - "580-the-logic-theory-machine-a-complex-information-processing-sy"
  - "582-report-on-a-general-problem-solving-program"
---

# Elements of a Theory of Human Problem Solving

## One-sentence takeaway

Newell, Shaw, and Simon treat human problem solving as information processing: a program is a theory, and think-aloud protocols are the data.

## Why it matters here

Agent architectures in this repo are also theories of search. This 1958 *Psychological Review* paper is why traces and protocols count as evidence.

## Key ideas

- Cognition is a sequence of elementary information processes operating on symbolic structures.
- A running program (LT, then GPS) *is* the theory; qualitative fit to human protocols is the test.
- Laboratory subjects solving logic problems while talking aloud supply the behavioral record.
- Heuristics, goals, and working memory limits are psychological claims, not only engineering knobs.
- The paper exports AI method into psychology and, later, cognitive architectures (Soar, ACT).

## Caveats

## Links

- DOI: [10.1037/h0048495](https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048495)
- URL: https://doi.org/10.1037/h0048495