HCD.22:4.3 - Choose visibility and personal memory separately

Decide what participants can see at each useful point: raw observations, reasons, candidate answers, a common model or feedback. Explain what that access enables. A hidden answer can preserve an initial judgement; a shared diagram can make a relation available for simultaneous examination. Neither constant visibility nor repeated isolation is universally preferable.

Decide separately whether personal work is retained and how it can be reused. A saved initial answer helps identify revision but may also anchor later search. If a new attempt is meant to expose a fresh model choice, state which previous material remains a legitimate reference. Do not describe the attempt as uncued after showing the decisive choice.

Bernstein, Shore and Lazer’s experiment distinguishes exposure to others’ solutions from storage of one’s own best solution. It motivates treating these as separate design choices. The experiment concerns triads solving a travelling-salesperson problem and different measures of solution quality; it does not prescribe a visibility schedule for this diagnostic lesson or demonstrate later personal transfer.

After interaction, make needed qualified content accessible to everyone who must use it. Temporary distribution can prompt exchange; permanently withholding another participant’s portion can prevent the later whole-task performance.