[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# The “Fish Tank” Experiments

Metacognitive Awareness of DSRP Significantly Increases Cognitive Complexity

Cabrera D, Cabrera L, Cabrera E, Systems (MDPI), 2022

## Abstract

Four matched treatments, each under a minute, testing whether brief explicit practice of a single pattern changes the structure of subsequent thinking. Four samples of about 350 subjects described the same image before and after a treatment on distinctions, systems, relationships or perspectives.

## What they found (results)

Priming systems, relationships or perspectives produced significantly fewer concepts with more said about each (p < 0.001). Priming distinctions did not reduce the inventory (p = 0.062). Unique-word gains were near-identical across the four (44.59 / 41.59 / 40.13 / 44.47%) while raw-word gains varied between 13 and 32%. Read times were 28.11s for D, 35.19s for S, 51.91s for R and 50.40s for P.

## Response

The dissociation matters more than the effect sizes. Distinctions generate and the other three organize, which is the theory's own division of labour, appearing in a measure nobody set out to test. The paper reports it as a puzzle.

## Experiments reported in this paper

- [Cabrera D, Cabrera L, Cabrera E (2022). Fish Tank treatments. Systems (MDPI).](https://dsrpevidence.org/experiment/324) (4 samples of 350)

[Read the paper](https://doi.org/10.3390/systems10020029)