Chapter 11: Problem Solving and Creativity Flashcards
An effort to overcome obstacles obstructing the path to a solution.
Problem Solving
The situation at the outset in which the problem is not yet solved.
Initial State
The condition under which the problem
has been solved.
Goal State
7 problem solving cycle.
Problem identification
Problem definition and representation
Strategy formulation
Organization of formation
Allocation of resources
Monitoring
Evaluation
Do we actually have a problem?
Problem identification
What exactly is our problem?
Problem definition and representation
How can we solve the problem?
Strategy formulation
4 types of strategy formulation.
Analysis
Synthesis
Divergent thinking
Convergent thinking
Breaking down the whole of a complex problem into manageable elements.
Analysis
Putting together various elements to arrange them into something useful.
Synthesis
Trying to generate a diverse assortment of
possible alternative solutions.
Divergent thinking
Narrow down the multiple possibilities to converge on a single best answer.
Convergent thinking
How do the various pieces of information in the problem fit together?
Organization of formation
How much time, effort, and money should I put into this problem?
Allocation of resources
Am I on track as I proceed to solve the problem?
Monitoring
Did I solve the problem correctly?
Evaluation
3 Errors in well-structured problem.
Inadvertently moving backwards
Making illegal moves
Not realizing the nature of the next legal move
Revert to a state that is further from the end goal.
Inadvertently moving backwards
A move that is not permitted according to the terms of the problems.
Making illegal moves
They become “stuck”.
Not realizing the nature of the next legal move
Universe of all possible actions that can be applied to solving a problem.
Problem space
Observed that humans must use mental
shortcuts to solve problems, termed as heuristics.
Newell and Simon
An informal, intuitive, speculative strategies that sometimes lead to an effective solution and sometimes do not.
Heuristics
Solving the problem by decreasing the distance between the current position in the problem space and the end goal in that space.
Means-end analysis
Start at the beginning and attempt to solve the problem from the start to finish.
Working forward
Start at the end and attempt to work backward from there.
Working backward
Generate alternative courses of action, not necessarily in a systematic way, and note whether each course of action will work.
Generate and test
Lacks clear paths to solutions.
Ill-structured problems
Gestalt psychologist who wrote about productive thinking and reproductive thinking.
Max Wertheimer
Involves insight that go beyond the bounds of
existing associations.
Productive thinking
Is based on existing associations involving what is already known.
Reproductive thinking
2 Obstacles and aids to problem solving.
Mental set
Entrenchment
A frame of mind involving an
existing model for representing a
problem.
Mental set
Another term for mental set.
Entrenchment
3 types of mental set.
Functional fixedness
Stereotypes
Stereotype threat
Inability to realize that something known to have a particular use also may be used to perform other functions.
Functional fixedness
Beliefs that members of a social group tend more or less uniformly to have particular types of characteristics.
Stereotypes
Being aware of stereotypes about their group also can limit people’s performance.
Stereotype threat
Carryover of knowledge or skills from one problem situation to another.
Transfer
2 types of transfer.
Negative transfer
Positive transfer
Occurs when solving an earlier problem makes it harder to solve a later one.
Negative transfer
Occurs when the solution of an earlier problem
makes it easier to solve a new problem.
Positive transfer
If they find a relationship, they may have a starting point to solve the new problem.
Analogical problem solving
Putting the problem aside for a while without
consciously thinking about it—offers one way in which to minimize negative transfer.
Incubation
A theory that the mind influences the body and the body influences the mind.
Embodied cognition
Is/Are superior skills or achievements reflecting
a well-developed and well-organized knowledge based.
Expertise
A person who, by devoting a large amount of time to learn a particular skill/field and applying and practicing that learning.
Expert
Statements made by problem solvers that can lead to increased problem-solving ability.
Verbal protocols
Low-level skills become automatic.
Automaticity
Involves developing rich, highly organized schemas.
Schematization
Involves consolidating sequences of steps into unified routines that require little or no conscious control.
Automatization
Retains memories in a stable form but can be
accessed only with adequate retrieval cues.
Long-term working memory
Looking ahead allows experts to produce signs
more quickly than do novices.
Prediction Skills
The process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile.
Creativity
Divergent production, it is the generation of a diverse assortment of appropriate responses, an approach originated by Guilford.
Measures of Creativity
Creative process both effortful and/or spontaneous.
Prefrontal Cortex
Verbal working memory, task switching, and imagination.
Brodmann’s Area (BA 39)
