Chapter 10: Thinking, Problem Solving, & Reasoning Flashcards
Thinking
Going beyond the info give, a complex/high level skill that fills gaps in evidence
Refers to more than one specific activity
Focused Thinking
Clear starting point and has a specific goal
Unfocused Thinking
Character of daydreaming, or unintentionally calling to mind a number of loosely related ideas
Not sure if creative thinking falls under focused or unfocused thinking (mixed research, might be a combination)
Reasoning
Cognitive processes we use when we draw inferences from info
Introspection
Detailed, concurrent, non judgemental observation of contents of consciousness
Well-Defined Problems
Clear goal, present a small set of info to start from, often present set of rules to abide by while working to solution
Ill-Defined Problems
Don’t have goals, starting info, or steps clearly spelled out
Generate & Test Technique
Generating numerous possible solutions and testing them
Useful when there aren’t a lot of possibilities
Classic Problems/Methods of Solution
Generate and test
Means-ends analysis
Working backward
Reasoning by analogy
Problems With Generate & Test Technique
Doesn’t work well when;
Too many possibilities
No guidance over generation
Can’t keep track of possibilities tested
Means-Ends Analysis Steps
Initial state: conditions at beginning of problem
Goals state: condition at the end of problem
Intermediate states: various conditions that exist along pathways between the initial and goal state
Operators: permissible moves that can be made towards the problem’s solution
Means-Ends Analysis Downfalls
However, sometimes the optimal way to reach solution is to take a temporary step backward from the goal
Can make it more difficult to see that most efficient path to a goal isn’t always the most direct one
Means-Ends Analysis
Reduce the difference between initial state and goal state
Involves generating a goal and sub goals
Any sequence of moves beginning at initial state and ending at final goal constitutes a solution path
Working Backward
Analyze goal to determine the last step needed to achieve it, then next to last step, etc
Involves creating sub goals and reducing differences between the current state and the goal state
Sub goals are created working backwards from the goal state
Backtracking
Problem solving involves making working assumptions
To correct mistakes in problem solving, we need to;
Remember assumptions
Assess which assumptions failed
Correct the assumption
Reasoning By Analogy
Find comparisons between two situations and apply the solution from one situation to another
Involves a deep understanding of elements of problem and their relationships
Map a solution from one problem to a different problem
Risk of Reasoning by Analogy
Can be taken too far if one assumes that the links map on too directly between the two domains
Blocks To Problem Solving
Mental sets
Lack of problem specific knowledge/expertise
Finding creative solutions
Unconscious processing/incubation
Everyday mechanisms
Mental Set
Tendency to adopt a certain framework, strategy, or procedure based on your initial assumption instead of other equally plausible ways
Induced by short amounts of practice
Often cause people to make unwarranted assumptions without awareness
Perceptual Set
Tendency to perceive an object or pattern in a certain way on the basis of your immediate perceptual experience
Functional Fixedness
Adopting a rigid mental set toward an object
E.g. using screwdriver as a weighted pendulum on a string to reach two far apart strings at once
Expertise
Expertise alone is not always enough for problem solving
Brain damage can disrupt the role of expertise
Chess Players & Expertise
Examined chess masters and novices
Both considered the same number of possible moves
But masters somehow chose the best move more easily
Experts can recall more items from a 5 second exposure of a chessboard
But only when the pieces are configured to depict a possible chess game
Why Are Experts Better
More domain specific categorization skills (draw form more exemplars)
Represent problems at a deeper more conceptual level
Better chunking