Everyone encounters problems in which solutions are neither readily available nor readily derivable from acquired knowledge. This type of problem solving, frequently experienced in daily life, is referred to as practical problem solving. Such problems can be experienced at the work place, or in school, the household, stores, movie theaters, or really, anywhere. There is no consensus on how to define practical problems encountered in life, but building on a distinction made by Neisser (1976), Sternberg and his colleagues (Sternberg, 1985a, 1997a; Wagner and Sternberg, 1986) have classified problems as academic or practical in nature. Academic problems tend to be (a) formulated by others, (b) well-defined, (c) complete in the information they provide, (d) characterized by having only one correct answer, (e) characterized by having only one method of obtaining the correct answer, (f ) disembedded from ordinary experience, and (g) of little or no intrinsic interest.

Practical problems, in contrast to academic problems, tend to be (a) unformulated or in need of reformulation, (b) of personal interest, (c) lacking in information necessary for solution, (d) related to everyday experience, (e) poorly defined, (f ) characterized by multiple "correct" solutions, each with liabilities as well as assets, and (g) characterized by multiple methods for picking a problem solution. Given the differences in the nature of academic and practical problems, it is no surprise that people who are adept at solving one kind of problem may well not be adept at solving problems of the other kind.

The cognitive skills that individuals exhibit in finding solutions to practical problems may be referred to as practical cognitive skills (Baltes, Dittman-Kohli, and Dixon, 1984; Berg, in press; Berg and Sternberg, 1985; Rogoff, 1982; Sternberg, 1985a, 1997a; Wagner, in press). When combined, these skills can be referred to as practical cognition, which is defined as cognitive skills that serve to find a more optimal fit between the individual and the demands of the individual's environment, whether by adapting to the environment, changing (or shaping) the environment, or selecting a different environment (Sternberg, 1985a; Sternberg, 1997a). The concept of practical cognition takes into account the distinction presented above between academic and practical tasks. The skills emphasized in formal schooling have limited value if they cannot be used to address practical, everyday problems.

1.1.1 Research on practical problem-solving skill

The research on practical cognition is becoming more and more central to mainstream psychology (see Berg and Klaczynski, 1996, for a review). Initially, the examination of practical cognition issued from a concern that the cognition of adults functioning largely outside the academic environment from the moment they obtained their academic degrees and virtually for the rest of their lives, was evaluated primarily by traditional tests of cognition constructed to predict academic success.

Various aspects of the meaning of the concept of practical cognition are expressed in a number of diverse constructs. Some researchers define everyday cognition as a specific expression of conventional skills that permit adaptive behavior within a distinct class of everyday-life situations (e.g., Willis and Schaie, 1986), whereas others stress the unique nature of practical skills (e.g., Neisser, 1976; Wagner, 1987). Most psychological studies of practical skills focus on solving problems that are ill-structured in their goals and solutions and are frequently encountered in daily life (at home, work, and in dealing with people) (e.g., Cornelius and Caspi, 1987; Denney, 1989).

A number of studies have addressed the relation between practical and academic cognition. These studies have been carried out in a wide range of settings, using a variety of tasks, and with diverse populations. We review some examples of research on problem solving and reasoning. For other reviews see Ceci and Roazzi (1994), Rogoff and Lave (1984), Scribner and Cole (1981), Sternberg and Wagner (1986, 1994), Voss, Perkins, and Segal (1991), and Wagner (in press). Taken together, these studies show that skill measured in one setting (e.g., school) does not necessarily transfer to another setting (e.g., real-world task).