Chapter 8: Problem Solving

Question 1

where does problem solving occur in the brain

Answer 1

-Frontal lobe is primarily used for problem solving, particularly the prefrontal cortex
-Humans have the most space in their brain dedicated to prefrontal lobe, so they are the best at problem solving

Question 2

explain the study that highlights comparative problem solving abilities in other species

Answer 2

Kohler (1927)
-Chimpanzee named Sultan was able to use tools to solve problems
-Psychologist was stranded on islands and worked with animals to solve problems, there was a Chimpanzee who was able to use tools (had bananas on another side of the wall and a monkey was able to use a tool to get to the other side)

Question 3

what are the three features of problem solving

Answer 3

1) Goal directedness

2) subgoal decomposition
-Taking mini steps to solve a bigger goal, following the certain rules to get to the solution (e.g. the orcs and the hobbits problem)

3) Operator application
-Operators transform one problem state to another (e.g. changing the chains for the circular chain problem)

Question 4

definition of problem solving

Answer 4

Problem solving is goal-directed behavior that often involves setting subgoals to enable the application of operators.

Question 5

what are the three ways that problem solving operators can be acquired

Answer 5

Problem-solving operators can be acquired by:

1) DISCOVERY
-Thorndike’s cats, placed in puzzle boxes
-Took cats in boxes that wanted to get out of the crate, in order for it to get out it had to do extremely complicated things like move different levers, cats messed around with stuff until they figured out the sequence of things they need to do to get the door open

2) BY BEING TOLD ABOUT THEM
-Uniquely human—depends on language
-We have language that can help us solve problems

3) BY EXAMPLE
-See someone else solving a problem and apply that themselves

Question 6

what is an analogy

Answer 6

another way to acquire means to solve problems
-One way to acquire operators
-maps the solution for one problem onto another problem

Question 7

example of analogy we learned in class with the two different problems

Answer 7

TWO PROBLEMS, DIFFERENT SURFACE STRUCTURE, SIMILAR DEEP STRUCTURE
-Gick and Holyoak (1980)
-Tumor problem
-Tumor with rays and the potential to damage healthy tissue
-Fortress problem
-Gives answer they have to divide up the army and attack the fortress from different angle, this helps them solve the tumor problem

Question 8

analogical problem solving in humans

Answer 8

-hallmark of human cognition
-Capability nearly unique to humans
-Some evidence for it in chimpanzees

Question 9

explain use of frontal cortical region

Answer 9

-Activated in analogical reasoning
-Located in right anterior prefrontal cortex
-Studies where you have to find the missing stimuli in an array, individuals who are under five, monkeys, and patients with frontal damage may struggle with this

Question 10

what are the three criteria humans use to select operators

Answer 10

-Backup avoidance.
-Difference reduction
-Means-ends analysis

Question 11

what is backup avoidance

Answer 11

-avoiding operators that take one back to a state already visited

but this might be necessary to solve the problem
-You know how to drive from A to B to C
-Go from A to B, and then (accidentally) to D
-Just go back to B
-Much more efficient to just go back to B, but people do not like to do this

Question 12

what is difference reduction

Answer 12

(hill climbing)
-To reduce the difference between the current state and the goal state (always trying to make forward progress)
-But it might be necessary to increase the difference to solve the problem (might be necessary to move backwards)

Flu shot
-Injecting you with the virus

Question 13

example of difference reduction

Answer 13

The hobbit and orcs problem
-Steps 6 to 7 – difficult because it involves moving two creatures backwards
-Violates difference reduction (you are technically moving backwards not forwards)

Question 14

what is means-ends analysis

Answer 14

-Creation of a new goal (end) to enable a problem-solving operator (means) to apply to achieving the old goal
-Creating subgoals and figuring out how to solve them
-Does not abandon an operator if it cannot be applied immediately

Question 15

explain the example of means-ends analysis

Answer 15

TOWER OF HANOI PROBLEM
-A problem-solving task studied in the laboratory
-Involves moving disks among pegs
-Solved by adapting a means-ends strategy in which subgoals are created

Question 16

tower of hanoi study

Answer 16

KOTOVSKY ET AL. (1985)
-Studied how people actually approached the Tower of Hanoi problem
-Identified an initial problem-solving period where people adopted fruitless difference-reduction strategy
-Found people then switched to means-ends strategy, after which problem solution came quickly

Question 17

prefrontal cortex and goal structures

Answer 17

-Plays a critical role in maintaining goal structures
-Those with prefrontal damage have particular difficulty
-when problem solving involves backward movement.
-inhibiting a predominant response.
-fMRI study, the more goals you have the more activity in the prefrontal cortex

Question 18

what is problem representation

Answer 18

The Importance of the Correct Representation
-How a person represents a problem will influence whether they solve it correctly.

Question 19

example of problem representation task we did in class

Answer 19

KAPLAN AND SIMON (1990)
-Mutilated-checkerboard problem
-Few people solve the problem without a hint:
-Domino must cover one black and one white square (but there are not an even number of black and white squares on the board so it cannot be done)
-Easy when someone talks about it, but without the hint people do not normally get it correct

Question 20

explain the easier version of the problem representation task

Answer 20

32 men and 32 women in a village, 2 run off; no way to solve this problem
-Why is this one easier than the other one?
-Similar reasoning is used to solve both problems
-But you represent the marriage problem in a way that makes that reasoning easy to see
-You don’t represent the checkerboard problem that way

Question 21

what is functional fixedness

Answer 21

The tendency to represent objects as serving conventional problem-solving functions and thus failing to see that they can serve novel functions

Question 22

example of functional fixedness with string problem

Answer 22

-Hang two strings on opposite side of the room, strings would be just far enough apart that you could tie them together, but your arm span could not reach far enough to grab the other
-Only 39% of Maier’s participants were able to see the solution within 10 minutes.
-A large majority of the participants did not perceive the pliers as a weight that could be used as a pendulum.

Question 23

example of functional fixedness with candle problem

Answer 23

-Putting candles against the wall so the wax does not drop down, using the box in a way that it is not typically used for
-Do not tend to think of novel uses for objects
-Only think of the box as a holder for tacks

Question 24

what are set effects

Answer 24

-The biasing of a solution to a problem
as a result of past experiences in solving that kind of problem
-Result when the knowledge relevant to
a particular type of problem solution is strengthened

-People can become biased to prefer certain operators when solving a problem by their experiences.

Question 25

explain the water jug problem and set effects

Answer 25

-Luchins and Luchins (1959)
-Induced mental set in their research participants
-The task was to measure out a specified quantity of water. Two examples are given below:
-#1 is addition problem: 2A + C
-#2 is subtraction problem: B – A – 2C
-Solving several of one kind of problem in a row “sets” participants and they are more likely to try and use the way they solved the earlier problems for the latter problems

Question 26

what is the einstellung effect

Answer 26

-Mechanization of thought
-set effect in which people repeat a solution that has worked for previous problems, even when a simpler solution is possible

Question 27

explain the einstellung effect in the water jug problem

Answer 27

In the water jug problem….
-The equations work for the majority of problems, but there are some exceptions; so there are other easier equations that could be used because the complicated formula could not work

Question 28

findings from water jug problem

Answer 28

Doing all 10 problems
-83% used B – 2C – A method for #6 and #7
-64% failed to solve problem #8
-79% used B – 2C – A method for #9 and #10

Doing only last 5 problems:
-Fewer than 1% used B – 2C – A for problems
-Only 5% failed to solve problem #8

Because they didn’t have a bias to using some overcomplicated solution which was not the best to use in that specific problem

Question 29

what are incubation effects

Answer 29

-Solutions may come easier after a break
-Inappropriate strategies are forgotten

Question 30

example of incubation effects with the necklace problem

Answer 30

-The cheap necklace problem used by Silveira (1971) to investigate the incubation effect
-½ hour to work – 55% solved
-Same with ½ hour break – 64% solved

Same with 4 hour break – 85% solved

Reasoning for this happening has to do with set effects, when you are work on a problem you get set trying to solve a problem the same way and taking a break can help you forget the original way you were trying to solve the problem and try a different strategy

Question 31

explain insight/insight problems

Answer 31

-Problems whose solution depend on one key insight
-The “aha” experience
-This is a misconception – better to think that at some point we let go of incorrect operators
-Insight problems are ones in which solvers cannot recognize when they are getting close to the solution.
-Cheap necklace problem is thought to be an insight problem

Question 32

how can you tell if something is an insight problem or not

Answer 32

-Suggested insight problem is one in which people are not aware they are close to a solution

Question 33

insight: cheap necklace problem vs. tower of hanoi

Answer 33

-Ratings of closeness to solution
-Cheap necklace is an insight problem and the tower of Hanoi is not
-Would ask people every 10-15 seconds how close they thought they were to solving the problem
-Found that when people worked on the cheap necklace problem, they did not know they were about to solve it until they actually solved it; the tower of Hanoi problem was not like this, they felt like they were gradually getting closer to the solution

Question 34

study that highlighted the misconception of insight problems

Answer 34

-Misconception that solution depend on one key insight; “aha” experience
-Rather than thinking of aha moments, think of it as letting go of things that are not effective and moving to something that is effective
-Sometimes people have that and it doesn’t help
- they don’t recognize importance

Example: mutilated-checkerboard problem

Question 35

brain research with insight

Answer 35

-Participants laying in fMRI, give them three words and they would have to find another word to connect all three of the words (Print/berry/bird; blue)
-Activity in left prefrontal region as association is solved, successful trials have more activation in this area