Cognitive Psychology - Problem Solving & Creativity Flashcards
an obstacle between a present state and a goal and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle
problem
Problem solving, for the ________, was about (1) how people represent a problem in their mind and (2) how solving a problem involves a reorganization or restructuring of this representation.
Gestalt
the process of changing a problems representation
restructuring
a problem, as defined by psychologists is a situation in which you need to accomplish a _________ and the _________ is not immediately obvious
- goal
- solution
any sudden comprehension, realization, or problem solution that involves a reorganization of a person’s mental representation of a stimulus, situation, or event to yield an interpretation that was not initially obvious
insight
how a problem is represented in the mind depends on how the problem is _________
presented
according to Gestalt, solving the solution is obtained first by _________ the problem and then _________ it in different ways
- perceiving
- representing
each ways about going about solving a problem involves a different way of _________ it in the mind
representing
‘reorganisation of a person’s mental representations’ in the definition of insight, corresponds to what according to Gestalts approach
restructuring
________ in the definition of insight corresponds to the Gestalt emphasis on suddenly realizing the problem’s solution
sudden comprehension
Metcalf and Wiebe designed an experiment to distinguish between ______ problems and _______ problems
- insight
- noninsight
For noninsight problems, Metcalfe and Wiebe used algebra problems which are also called ______ problems
analytically based
Metcalf and Wiebe demonstrated that solutions for problems that have been called insight problems _______
occur suddenly
people’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution.
fixation
problems that are solved by a process of systematic analysis, often using techniques based on past experience.
analytically based problems
an effect that occurs when the idea a person has about an objects function inhibits the persons ability to use the object for different functions
functional fixedness
To solve this problem, participants needed to tie the pliers to one of the strings to create a pendulum, which could then be swung to within the person’s reach.
two string problem
The solution to this problem occurs when the person realizes that the matchbox can be used as a support rather than as a container
candle problem
a 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
A problem, first described by Luchins, that illustrates how mental set can influence the strategies that people use to solve a problem
water jug problem
Newell and Simon (1972) saw problems in terms of an _______ state—conditions at the beginning of the problem—and a ______ state—the solution of the problem.
- initial state
- goal state
Newell and Simon also introduced the idea of _______—actions that take the problem from one state to another and are goverend by rules
operators
Conditions after each step is made toward solving a problem
intermediate state
All possible states that could occur when solving a problem
problem space
A way of solving a problem in which the goal is to reduce the distance between the initial and goal state
means end analysis
Small goals that help create intermediate states that are closer to
the goal. Occasionally, may appear to increase the distance to the goal state, but in the long run can result in the shortest path to the goal.
subgoals
from the Tower of Hanoi, what is this an example of ?
Small goals that help create intermediate states that are closer to
the goal. Occasionally, a subgoal may appear to increase the distance to the goal state, but in the long run can result in the shortest path to the goal.
subgoals
from the Tower of Hanoi, what is this an example of ?
Rule: A larger disc can’t be placed on a smaller one.
operators
from the Tower of Hanoi, what is this an example of ?
Establish subgoals, each of which moves the solution closer to the goal state.
means end analysis
from the Tower of Hanoi, what is this an example of ?
Subgoal 4: To free up the medium-sized disc, you need to move the small disc from the middle peg back to the peg on the left
subgoals
According to Newell and Simon, the person has to search the problem space to find a solution, and they proposed that one way to direct the search is to use a strategy called ________
means end analysis
Our overall goal in applying _________ to the Tower of Hanoi problem is to reduce the size of the difference between initial and goal states.
means end analysis
The primary goal of means–end analysis is to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states. This is achieved by creating _________—intermediate states that are closer to the goal.
subgoals
procedure where participants are asked to say out loud what they are thinking while solving a problem. They are instructed not to describe what they are doing, but to verbalize new thoughts as they occur.
think aloud protocol
One goal of a think-aloud protocol is to determine what information the person is ______ while solving a problem.
attending to
using the solution to a similar problem to guide solution of a new problem often using techniques based on past experiences
analogical problem solving
making a comparison in order to show similarity between two different things
analogy
Transferring experience in solving one problem to the solution of another, similar problem
analytical transfer
Two key terms that are used in research on analogical transfer
- target problem
- source problem
which is the problem the participant is trying to solve in analogical transfer
target problem
another problem that shares some similarities with the target problem and that illustrates a way to solve the target problem.
source problem
Gick and Holyoak to propose that the process of analogical problem solving involves what three steps?
- noticing
- mapping
- applying
A problem posed by Duncker that involves finding a way to destroy a tumor by radiation without damaging other organs in the body. This problem has been widely used to study the role of analogy in problem solving.
radiation problem
For the mutilated checkerboard problem, the checkerboard problem is the ______
problem, and the Russian marriage problem is the ______ problem.
- target
- source
Gick and Holyoak propose that the ______ step is the most difficult of the three steps in analogical problem solving
noticing
one way to help people notice similarities is through a training procedure called__________
analogical encoding
the process by which two problems are compared and similarities between them are determined
analogical encoding
a negotiating strategy in which one person says to an-other, “I’ll give you A, if you’ll give me B.”
trade off strategy
a negotiating strategy in which a person
gets what he or she wants if something else happens.
contingency strategy
While it is difficult to apply analogies in laboratory research, people routinely use analogies in real-world settings
analogical paradox
Observing people to determine how they solve problems in real-world situations. This technique has been used to study the use of analogy in a number of different settings, including laboratory meetings of a university research group and design brainstorming sessions in an industrial research and development department.
in vivo problem solving
research involves observing people to determine how they solve problems in real-world situations
in vivo problem solving
people who, by devoting a large amount of time to learning about a field and practicing and applying that learning, have become acknowledged as being extremely knowledgeable or skilled in that particular field
experts
it has been suggested that being an expert may be a disadvantage when confronting a problem that requires _________ thinking—a problem whose solution may involve rejecting the usual procedures in favor of other procedures that might not normally be used
flexible
thinking that is open minded involving a large number of potential solutions
divergent thinking
Kaufman notes that divergent thinking is the cornerstone of creativity and in addition to be original, a creative response to a problem must be ______
useful
stage one of the problem solving process proposed by Basadur is the problem generation stage, which includes what?
- problem findings
- fact finding
stage two of the problem solving process proposed by Basadur is what?
problem formulation
stage three of the problem solving process proposed by Basadur is the _____ stage
problem solving
stage four of the problem solving process proposed by Basadur is what?
solution implementaion
some research has focused on two steps in this process, generating ideas and evaluating the idea, where generating ideas corresponds to ________ and evaluating ideas corresponds to ________
- problem finding
- evaluation and selection
The purpose of this technique is to en-courage people to freely express ideas that might be use-ful in solving a particular problem
group brainstorming
One method of individual idea generation that does work has been proposed by
Ronald Finke, who developed a technique called _______ to train people to think creatively
creative cognition
ideas that precede the creation of a finished creative product, where they need to be developed further before becoming useful inventions
preinventive forms
the solution is that its permissible to cross the square boundary
non dot problem
the reason we do not consider the possibility of extending the lines outside the square in the nine dot problem has to do with our tendency to perceive individual elements as _______
grouped together
a procedure for stimulating the brain in which two electrodes are placed on a person’s head. These electrodes are connected to a battery-powered device that delivers direct current. One of the electrodes is the cathodal electrode, which is neg-atively charged and decreases the excitability of neurons under the electrode. The other is the anodal electrode, which is positively charged and increases the excitability of neurons under the electrode.
transcranial direct current stimulation
deactivating the left anterior temporal lobe helped the patients to what?
think outside the box
the left anterior ______ lobe is associated with grouping lower level information into meaningful patterns
temporal lobe
a task in which three words are presented, such as pine, crab, and sauce, and the task is to determine one word that, when combined with each of these words, forms a new word or a phrase (pineapple, crabapple, and applesauce, in this example). This type of problem can be solved both by insight or analytically
compound remote associate problem
use of EEG and a compound remote associate problem found that EEG activity increased in the frontal lobe just before the ________ solutions and increased in the occipital lobe just before the ______ solutions
- insight
- noninsight
DMN activity _______ when a person is involved in a specific task and ________ when attention isn’t focused on a task.
- decreases
- increases
activity in the DMN is associated with ______, and this is often associated with a decrease in performance on tasks that require focused attention like reading or solving math problems
- mind wandering
The phenomenon of getting ideas after taking a “time-out” from working on a problem
incubation
A task used to assess creativity, in which the person’s task is to think unusual uses for an object
alternative uses task
the result of the alternative uses task shows that higher originality is associated with higher activity in structures in the ______
DMN
network involved in directing attention as a person is carrying out tasks
executive control network
the DMN and ECN are connected during both the generation and evaluation stages of the creative process.
functionally
thoughts, or insights, arriving from unconscious information-processing systems. These often occur unexpectedly, although they are often preceded by unconscious mental activity.
intuition
The drive for cognitive exploration of one’s inner mind and the outer world
openness to experience
The act of choosing to disengage from external tasks in order to pursue an internal stream of thought that might have positive outcomes is called
volitional daydreaming
“the simple process of actively noticing new things” and “paying attention to the present moment”
mindfulness
focus on one thing, like the in and out of your breath, and when your mind wanders, as it inevitability will, to bring your attention back to your breath
focused attention meditation
paying attention to whatever comes into the mind, and to follow this thought until something else comes along, does not decrease mind wandering
open monitoring meditation
benefits of this characteristic is enhanced daydreaming, enhanced analytical thinking that required focused attention and helps avoid distractions
solitude
Kaufman and Gregoire state that
“________ isn’t just about avoiding distractions; it’s about giving the mind the space it needs to reflect, make new connections and find meaning.”
solitude
_______ meditation causes greater activation of the DMN than FA meditation
open monitoring
functional fixedness would be lowest for a(n):
a) novel object
b) familiar object
c) frequently used object
d) object with a specific function
a) novel object
which term best describes the process of brainstorming?
a) compound
b) divergent
c) preinventive
d) mindful
b) divergent
expertise can be divided into categories, what are they?
- routine
- adaptive
an expert who uses acquired knowledge to solve familiar problems efficiently
routine
an expert who uses acquired knowledge to develop strategies for dealing with novel problems
adaptive
Routine expertise is of a lower level order of thinking than adaptive expertise, as the situation is generally _______ and can be seen as a kind of competence.
- known
Involves observing people to determine how they solve problems in real-world situations (Dunbar, 2002). This method has been used to study the use of analogy in a number of different settings, including laboratory meet-ings of a university research group and brainstorming sessions in which the goal was to develop a new product. Discussions recorded during these meetings have been analyzed for statements indicating that analogy is being used to help solve a problem.
in vivo problem solving
One method of individual idea generation that does work has been proposed by
Ronald Finke, who developed a technique called _______ to train people to think creatively.
A) creative problem solving
B) creative cognition
C) preinventive forms
D) cognitive creativity
B
