Chapter 12: Problem-solving and Creativity Flashcards
Occurs when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal and it is not immediately obvious how to get around that obstacle
Problem
What two things does problem solving involve according to the Gestalt psychologists?
How people represent a problem in their mind
How solving a problem involves a reorganization or restructuring of this representation (in the mind)
Changing the representation of a problem to have better chances of solving it
Restructuring
Sudden comprehension, realization, or problem solution that involves a reorganization (restructuring) of a person’s mental representation of a stimulus, situation, or event to yield an interpretation that was not initially obvious
Insight
Describe the experiment aiming to distinguish between insight problems and non-insight problems
Used algebra problems for non insight and triangle/chain problems for insight participants
After every 15 seconds , participants needed to rate how close they think they were to solving the problem
Found that people doing insight problems would have a sudden jump in ratings when they were close to solving the problem and eventually did (therefore insights occur suddenly aka and “aha” experience)
People’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution
Fixation
Type of fixation that works against solving a problem
Functional fixedness
Describe the candle problem
When participants were given a couple of objects and were asked how they would mount a candle on the corkboard so it would burn without dripping wax on the floor
Had 2 groups ; one were given a matchbox that was empty and the other was given a matchbox that was full
Those who had empty matchboxes solved the problem quicker because they realized that it could be used as a stand on the corkboard (other group saw boxes as containers so they had a functional fixedness that did not allow them to solve the problem as easily)
Describe the two-string problem
Participants’ task was to tie together two strings that were hanging from the ceiling. This was difficult because the strings were so far apart that it was impossible to reach one of them while holding the other
There were pliers that were used to create a pendulum to solve the problem in order for the person to reach the other string
Preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person’s experience of what has worked in the past
Mental set
Describe the water jug problem
Task was to figure out on paper how to obtain a required volume of water, given three empty jars for measures, three jugs had the following capacities: A=21 quarts, B=127 quarts,C= 3 quarts, and the desired volume was 100 quarts. A solution was given which allowed the participants to do a couple of problems easily.
Mental set grp ; problem 1 presented first with solution where problems 7 – 8 were worked up to
No mental set grp; presented with problems 7 – 8 where they worked towards problem 1
Found that the no mental set group found simpler solutions than those in the mental set group .
Explain how mental sets influence problem solving
Mental set can influence problem solving both because of preconceptions about the functions of an object (candle and two-string problems) and because of preconceptions about the way to solve a problem (water jug problem)
What did Newell and Simon demonstrate to be the case with problem-solving?
People solve problems stepwise rather than using subgoals
Actions that take the problem from one state to another
Operators
Sequences of choices of steps
Intermediate state
All possible states that could occur when solving the problem
Problem space
A way of solving the problem where the goal is to reduce the difference between initial and goal states, assisted with subgoals
Means end analysis
Small goals that help create intermediate states that are closer to the goal.
Subgoals
Describe the Tower of Hanoi problem
Initial state: 3 discs stacked on the left peg
Intermediate states: since there are numerous ways to move the disks, you chose moving the disks in an order that makes it more efficient to get to the goal state
Goal state: 3 discs stacked on the right peg
Operators: moving the disc to another peg
Problem state: all possible combinations of moving the disks that can lead to the goal state
Why is the Tower of Hanoi problem important?
Shows means end analysis where we need to set subgoals
Explain the results of Kaplan and Simon’s version of the mutilated chessboard problem
Boards that emphasized the difference between the adjoining squares were easier to solve for participants
Solving a problem becomes easier when information is provided helps people towards the correct representation of the problem
Note this chess board has no solution, participants were just able to come to that conclusion more quickly when the chess board gave that description
Helps to better understand thought processes, where the verbalization of new thoughts are done while they are trying to solve a problem (similar to gestalts restructuring)
Think aloud protocol
Noticing connections between similar problems and applying the solution for one problem to other problems, this leads to analogical problem solving
Analogical transfer
Problem participant is trying to solve
Target problem
Another problem that shares some similarities with the target problem and illustrates a way to solve the target problem
Source problem
Describe Karl Dunckers’ findings regarding the radiation problem and the fortress story
Participants who were presented with the fortress story then the radiation problem has a 30% more chance to solve the radiation problem due to analogous transfer
Describe the three steps for analogous problem solving that Gick and Holyoak proposed
Noticing: there is an analogous relationship between source and target problems (most difficult as you most likely need prompting before noticing a connection)
Mapping: mapping corresponding parts of the source problem and target problem by connecting elements.
Applying the mapping to the general parallel solution to the target problem
Process by which two problems are compared and similarities between them are determined
Analogical encoding
Describe Getner and Goldin-meadow’s analogical encoding experiment
Showed analogical encoding where participants were taught about negotiation strategies of trade-off and contingency
Trade off strategy : negotiating strategy in which one person says to another, “I’ll give you A, if you’ll give me B.”
Contingency strategy : negotiating strategy in which a person gets what he or she wants if something else happens.
Participants were given a couple of situations where they had to determine which strategy was best fit, what they found was that participants tended to use neg. strategies that had been emphasized in sample cases (sample cases used mostly trade off strategy)
Having people compare stories is effective in analogical coding
What are the three main differences between problem-solving as an expert as opposed to a novice?
Experts possess more knowledge in their fields
Experts’ knowledge is more organized than novices’
Experts spend more time analyzing problems
Why is being an expert not always an advantage?
Being so established in a field may encourage a expert to not look for new ways to solve a problem but instead methods that they always used (discourages creativity)
Technique for people to express ideas that might be useful in solving a problem
Group brainstorming
Why can group brainstorming sometimes lead to fewer ideas being generated?
Some people dominate discussions and don’t allow others to participate
Paying too much attention on other ideas may prevent idea generation
A type of divergent thinking where we can find a number of potential solutions (they must be useful in the context of problem solving)
Creativity
Describe the problem process according to Basadur
Problem generation: problem finding and fact finding
Problem formulation: problem definition and idea finding
Problem solving: evaluation and selection, planning
Solution implementation: selling idea, taking action
Ideas that preceded the creation of a finished and creative product
Pre-inventive forms
Describe the nine-dot problem and its relationship with the brain
Draw four straight lines that pass through all nine dots without lifting your pen from the paper or retracing a line. People don’t consider the possibility of extending the lines outside of the square
Due to perceiving elements as grouped together (gestalt principle)
Grouping involves the left anterior temporal lobe
What did Chi and Snyder find with respect to transcranial direct current stimulation and the nine-dot problem?
40% of participants solved the problem with deactivation of ATL (anterior temporal lobe), therefore deactivating certain areas will allow us to think outside the box
Describe the relationship between tasks and the default mode network (DMN)
Decreases when a person is involved in a task and increases when a person is not paying attention to a task
Activity is associated with mind wandering and associated with a decrease in performance on tasks that require attention
Describe Baird’s findings on mind wandering and creative problem solving
Discovered that mind wandering can lead to creative problem solving
He told participants that they had 2 minutes to think of unusual uses for common items given. This task was then followed by a incubation period, where for 12 minutes participants carried a difficult task
Those who did the hard task showed no creativity when the alternate use task was re-done, while those who did an easy task during incubation period had more creativity in the alternate use task
Involved in directing attention as person carries a task
Executive control network (ECN)
How are the DCM and ECN connected?
The spontaneous nature of mind wandering (DMN) creates a flow of thoughts and ideas (ECN)
ECN guides thinking in original directions (directs attention from unoriginal response)
A type of mind wandering where allowing this to occur can increase creativity
Daydreaming
Act of choosing to disengage from external tasks to daydream.
Volitional daydreaming
What is the relationship between solitude and analytical thinking?
Enhances analytical thinking that requires focused attention
Avoids distractions and giving the mind the space it needs to reflect
Simple process of actively noticing new things
Mindfulness
Describe two ways to increase mindfulness
Focused attention meditation: focusing on the breath even when mind wandering occurs, used to reduce stress
Open monitoring meditation: paying attention to whatever comes into the mind, and to follow this thought until something else comes along, does not decrease mind wandering.
What were Colzato et al,’s findings regarding meditation?
Found that people who use OM meditation had more original ideas and that it caused more activation of DMN
