When we see an object, phenomenon or person we tend to make some immediate associations based on our previous experiences. In other words, we use our intuition to make immediate meaning about what we encounter. In dual process theory, this is referred to as System 1 (contrasted with System 2 for analytical thinking) (e.g. Evans, 2007; Kahneman & Frederick, 2002). Our associations affect how we come to approach whatever we are encountering and thus also how learners approach something new that they are about to learn more about. Traditionally, intuitive responses have been studied from a conceptual change (Posner et al., 1982) perspective as misconceptions. However, an alternative model of learning, the resources framework (Hammer, 2000; Redish, 2004), has later been proposed in order to shift focus to the productive aspects of students’ intuition. In this presentation, we will briefly present this model and how one can apply it in their research by giving an example from my own research. In several of our previous studies, university students of different educational programs in science have, in different contexts, had the chance to investigate what happens when table salt is added to ice. Although both the contexts and the background of the participants have shifted, many of the students employ similar resources in reasoning about the phenomenon. One of these resources is the experience that salt is put on roads to melt ice during the winter.