CHAPTER 12 - PROBLEM SOLVING AND CREATIVITY Flashcards
define a problem
occurs when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal where it is not obvious how to get around the problem
define a problem how a psychologist would
a situation in which you need to accomplish a goal and the solution is not immediately obvious
according to the Gestalt psychologists, what 2 things are involved in problem solving?
- how people represent the problem in their mind
2. how solving a problem involves a reorganization or reconstructing of this representation
what is restructuring?
changing the problem’s representation
what is insight?
any sudden comprehension or realization that involves reorganization of a person’s mental representation of a stimulus to interpret what was not initially obvious
who distinguished between insight and non-insight problems?
Janet Metcalfe and David Wiebe
what did Metcalfe and Wiebe hypothesize about those working on insight and non-insight problems?
insight: should not be good at predicting how near they are to a solution
non-insight: would be more likely to know when they are near a solution
what were the insight problems used in Metcalfe and Wiebe’s insight experiment?
triangle problem
chain problem
what is the triangle problem?
moving 3 dots on a triangle pointing upwards to make it point downwards
what is the chain problem?
given 4 pieces of chain with 3 links and the goal is to join the pieces into a closed loop only having 15cents when it costs 2 cents to open a link and 3 cents to close
what were the non-insight problems used in Metcalfe and Wiebe’s experiment?
analytically based problems
what are analytically based problems?
problems solved by a process of systematic analysis and using techniques based on past experience
those who were working on insight problems had ___ ratings until the end and then a ___ increase in warmth ratings?
cold, sudden
those who were working on non-insight problems had both ___ and ___ ratings that _____ increased over time
cold, warm, gradual
what is fixation?
people’s tendency to focus on specific characteristics of the problem that keeps them from arriving at the solution
what is functional fixedness?
focusing on familiar functions of uses of an object
who used the candle problem?
Karl Dunker
what is the candle problem?
given a vertical corkboard on the wall, candles, matches, a match box, and tacks; one must mount the candle on the corkboard so it can burn without dripping wax on the floor
what were the 2 groups that Dunker introduced the problem to?
- box containing materials
2. materials not inside the box
which group found the problem more difficult?
the group that had a box as a container to the other materials
what could Dunker conclude about the box and fixation?
the boxes were only seen as containers thus they did not think to use it as a mount
what is the two-string problem
task is to tie together 2 strings that were hanging from the ceiling given a chair and pliers
what was the hard part of the two-sting problem?
the strings were too far away from each other
what is the applied functional fixedness in the two-string problem?
thinking the pliers are a set of tools rather than a weight
what is a mental set?
a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem
what is the water jug problem?
task is to determine on paper how to obtain a required volume of water given 3 empty jars as measures
who studied how participants solve with and without mental sets?
Luchins
what were Luchin’s 2 groups in his water jug experiment?
- mental set group: those who solved more problems before target problems thus were exposed to a mental set formula
- non-mental set group: were only solving the target problems thus were not exposed to a mental set formula
what did Luchins observe?
23% of the mental set group used a simpler solution and everyone in the non-mental set group used simpler solutions
what did Luchin’s conclude about mental set and the water jug problem?
mental set can influence problem solving because of preconceptions about the functions of an object and the way to solve a problem
who invented their Logic Theorist computer program designed to simulate human problem solving?
Alan Newell and Herbart Simon
according to Newell and Simon, what is problem solving?
a search that occurs between the posing of the problem and its solution
what is Newell and Simon’s initial state?
conditions at the beginning at the problem
what is Newell and Simon’s goal state?
the solution to the problem
what is the Tower of Hanoi problem?
given 3 pegs with 3 rings that increase in size must all be placed on the right peg based on a set of rules
what are Newell and Simon’s operators?
actions that take the problem from one state to another
what is Newell and Simon’s intermediate state?
conditions after each step is made toward the solving a problem
what is a problem space?
all possible states that can occur when solving a problem
what is means-end analysis?
a way of solving a problem in which the goal is to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states
what are subgoals?
small goals that help create intermediate states that are closer to the goal
what is the multilated checkerboard problem?
asks if a board loses 2 corners, can one cover the remaining squares with 31 dominos if a domino covers 2 squares of the opposite colour
what is the principle behind the multilated checkerboard problem?
if the 2 squares that are removed are the same colours, it is not possible to cover the board with 31 dominos
who tested that more versions of the multilated checkerboard problem were more likely to lead to the principle
Craig Kaplan and Herbart Simon
what were their 4 versions of the multilated checkerboard problem?
- blank squares
- coloured: black and pink
- words black and pink
- words bread and butter