Cog Ch 12 Problem solving Flashcards
What two factors make it difficult to solve arrangement problems?
One factor that can make it difficult to find a solution to an arrangement problem occurs when a problem solver unnecessarily constrains the solution. insight occurs when the problem solver removes the self imposed constraint. and the second factor is functional fixedness, the tendency to perceive an object in terms of only its most common use. People were slower to solve the candle problem when the tacks were in the boxes because it gave them a functial fixedness.
How does functional fixedness affects one’s ability to solve problems?
it handicaps you by not letting you see how an object can be used for purposes other than its intended use. More subjects solved the caldle problem when the boxes were empty.
Inducing-structure problems
Inducing-structure strategies are strategies that require finding a pattern to a sequence of items to continue the same pattern. series exploration, and analogy problems where A is to B as C is to ___.
Transformation problems
consist of an initla state, a goal state, and a sequence of operations for changing the initial state to the goal state. They differ from inducing problems because the provide the goal state rather than require the solvers to produce it. such as the missionaries and cannibals problem that provide the goal state.
What do verbal protocols contribute to the development of computer simulations models?
a verbal protocal is thinking out loud, and this helps the analysts by providing enough details about how they solve it so they can build a computer simulation that solves the problem in the same way that people solved it.
What factors influence how a person constructs a problem space for a given search space?
- previous experience with the same task or an nearly identical one
- previous exprience with analogous tasks, plans store in LTM that generalize over a range of tasks
- Plans stored in LTM that generalize over a range of tasks
- information accumulated while solving a problem.
What purpose does the table of connections serve in using a means-end strategy?
A table of connections combines the differences that exist between the problem states and the operators that are capable of eliminating the differences between the initial and goal state. which operators should be useful for reducing differences.
How does adding a subgoal change the strategy that problem solvers use?
It gives the solver a intermediate goal between the goal-state but sometimes causes confusion because they don’t know what to do after the subgoal.
What limitation did Gick and Holyoak discover in the ability of individuals to use problem analogies?
People have to hear 2 analogous stories so that they can compare them and realize that they both have the same solution, were more likely to make a convergence and think of the solution for the radiation problem than when the students only read one analogous story. Military and fire stories
How do convergence schemas relate to problem isomorphs?
Convergence schemas makes people solve to analogous stories which makes them think about the solution in general terms. the consultants who studied both cases simultaneously discussed the similarities and made a general schema that aided them in different ways. They were more successful in describing the principles of a contingent contract than participants who did not compare the two cases. In the problem isomorphs- problems that have different story contents but identical solutions. The people with the spatial task used graphic representations but only 2 of the temporal task used them also. in the second study when provided with the diagram there were equivilant results. People who solve problem isomorphs may still not see any similarities between them. Some tasks are more difficult even though they have the same solution.
