Chapter 12 Flashcards
What is a problem?
occurs when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal, and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle.
A problem is difficult and the solution is not immediately obvious.
What is the gestalt approach?
problem solving as representation and restructuring.
Representing a problem in the mind:
The success in solving a problem is influenced by how it is represented in the person’s mind.
We have to perceive an object and then present it in a different way → restructuring.
Crossword puzzles: Focusing on one small part at a time, focusing on horizontal words first, pick a corner of the puzzle.
what is problem solving?
how people represent the problem in their mind, and how solving a problem involves a reorganization or restructuring of this representation.
What is insight?
sudden realization of a problem’s solution
What was the Metcalfe and weibe experiment?
experiment used to compare experiences of solving insight and non-insight problems.
Insight → participants should not be good at predicting how near they are to a solution.
Noninsight → step-by-step process, know when they are getting closer to a solution.
Experiment results → noninsight came closer to the solution on a more gradual scale.
What is an obstacle to problem solving?
Fixation
What is fixation?
people’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution.
What is functional fixedness?
Focusing solely on familiar functions or uses of an object to solve a problem.
What is the Duncker experiment?
1 group with boxes containing materials and the other with the boxes and materials separate. Group with boxes as containers found it more difficult to solve the problem as the other group.
Seeing the boxes as containers limits you to only seeing them as so and not as materials you can use to your advantage.
What is the two string problem?
tie two strings together that are hanging from the ceiling (strings are too far apart to be able to reach one of them while holding the other)
Objects available were pliers and a chair.
Scientist walked in after a while and played with pliers/ moved the string
Participants solved the problem by using pliers to help swing the string and catch it while holding the other string.
People usually think of using pliers as a tool and not a pendulum.
What is the commonality between the Duncker experiment and the two string problem?
Both problems are difficult because of people’s preconceptions about the uses of objects.
What are preconceptions?
a mental set, a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem.
Determined by a person’s experience or what has worked in the past.
what is the water jug problem?
Participants have to figure out how to obtain a required volume of water with three empty jars.
Provided the solution and presented another similar problem.
The other problem could not be solved using the same solution as the previous problem, but participants kept on using the previous solution because it had worked before.
What is the Newell and Simon approach of problem solving?
Problems are seen in terms of an initial state, and a goal state
initial state
conditions at the beginning of the problem
Goal state
Solution of the problem
Operators
actions t hat take the problem from one state to another
Intermediate state
Each action taken creates a state between the initial and the goal states.
Problem space
All the states that much up the problem
Means-end analysis
reduce the difference between the initial and goal states. Achieved by creating subgoals
Subgoals
intermediate states that are closer to the goal.
What does the tower of hanoi problem illustrate?
illustrates the importance of setting subgoals.
Importance of how a problem is stated
The way a problem is stated can affect its difficulty.
What is the think-aloud protocol?
Participants are asked to say aloud what they are thinking while solving a problem. Reveals a shift in how a person perceives elements of the problem.
analogy
using the solution to a similar problem to guide the solution of the new problem
analogical transfer
Transfer from one problem to another.
Target problem
problem participants are trying to solve
Source problem
similar problem from the recent past, that illustrates a way to solve the target problem.
Duncker radiation problem
Doctor faced with patient who has malignant tumor.
A ray can be used to destroy the tumor but the healthy tissue can be destroyed too.
How can we destroy the tumor and avoid destroying healthy tissue?
Solution: different directions of rays at low intensity.
People could not solve the problem → fortress story was used as an analogy
Fortress story: everyone in the fortress will notice a big army, but if they separate into smaller groups, they can get through unnoticed.
Story is structurally analogous to the radiation problem.
3 steps of analogical problem solving
noticing that there is an analogous relationship
Mapping the correspondence between the source story and the target problem
Applying the mapping to generate a parallel solution to the target problem
Surface features
specific elements of the problem
What happens when you make surface features more similar
more people are able to solve the target problem if the source problem is made more similar and the answer is known
Structural features
underlying principle that governs the solution.
What happens when structural features are different?
less people tend to solve the problem from the analogy.
How can you improve analogical transfer
making the structural features of the source problem and the target problem more similar.
Analogical encoding
Process by which two problems are compared and similarities between them are determined
analogical paradox
difficult to apply analogies in lab research, but people routinely use them in real-world settings.
Experts
people who are socially recognized as being extremely knowledgeable or skilled in a particular field.
Differences in problem solving: experts and novices
experts possess more and better-structured knowledge about their fields.
Divergent thinking
open-ended thinking. involves a large number of potential solutions.
Creativity
anything made by people that is in some way novel and has potential value or utility.
4 steps of problem solving
problem generation, problem formulation, problem solving, solution implementation
Guilford’s alternate uses test
lsit all the things a household item can be used as. Mood and physical activity can influence responses.
Trait related to mental illness and creativity
latent inhibition. It is impaired for people with mental illness.
latent inhibition
capacity to screen out stimuli that are considered irrelevant.
Savant syndrome
people with autism or other mental disorders are able to achieve extraordinary feats or exhibit great artisitic talent or mathematical ability
What are savants more intelligent
they have access to information that is normally hidden from conscious awareness because of top-down inhibition.
Ill-defined problem
more vague and there is not one unique goal or solution
Well-defined problem
the goal is clear and the steps to follow are clearly defined
heuristics
shortcuts/ rules of thumb that are based on experience and can lead to a solution.
Deductive reasoning
drawing specific conclusions based on general principles or premises.
inductive reasoning
going from the specific to the general. going from specific observations to broader conclusions
