In recent years there has been increasing interest in the study of naturalistic, everyday problem-solving behavior in adulthood. There are many questions that could be addressed regarding the study of everyday problem solving: What kind of measures should be developed? How should these measures be developed? How should reliability and validity be established? And so forth. But the question that needs to be addressed first is why we should study everyday problem solving in adults, and that is the question that will be addressed first in this chapter. The rationale frequently given for studying everyday problem solving will be followed by an empirically and logically based critique of the rationale. Then the developmental research that has already been conducted with everyday problemsolving tasks will be presented, followed by presentation of a model of cognitive development that is consistent with the research findings. Then the potential of everyday problem-solving research to answer questions about nomothetic developmental functions will be called into question. Finally, the chapter closes with recommendations for further research.

The rationale for study of everyday problem solving

The recent interest in everyday problem solving has occurred as a result of developing concern over the validity of our traditional laboratory measures of problem solving when those measures are used with middle-aged and older adults. Because most traditional laboratory problem-solving tasks were developed for use with children or young adults, it is reasonable to question their relevance for middle-aged and older adults.