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cognitive research > Problem Solving > Flashcards

Problem Solving Flashcards

week 7

1
Q

what are the 3 aspects involved in problem solving?

A
  1. goal directed (or purposeful)
    ○ Aiming for a specific outcome
  2. Involves controlled (or conscious) processing
    ○ Consciously aware when we are solving a problem
  3. Lack of knowledge to produce an immediate solution
    ○ We don’t know the solution= problem.
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2
Q

what are the two types of problems?

A
  1. well-defined
    ○ All aspects of a problem are clearly specified (Anagrams)
    ○ Aware of the desired outcome
  2. Ill-defined
    ○ Aspects of the problem are imprecisely specified
    ○ E.g.: a surprise party
    ○ Lots of components that aren’t immediately there
    § Less clear cut
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3
Q

what does the mnemonic IGOR stand for in defining problems?

A

I- Clear description of how everything is set up at the beginning of the problem
○ the initial state of the problem
○ Starting point
○ Where we are currently
G- What the problem should look like at the end
○ in the goal state
○ Where we want to be w=once we have solved the problem
O- The actions (operators) to be taken to get to the goal
○ the actions we will complete to achieve the state
R- What you are not allowed to do (operator restrictions)
○ Is there anything we cant do?

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4
Q

what is a knowledge rich problem?

A

○ Can only be solved with relevant knowledge and expertise
E.g.: getting a degree

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5
Q

what is a knowledge-lean problem?

A

○ Do not require knowledge
○ Most information to solve problem available in the initial problem statement
E.g.: an anagram

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6
Q

what are the two types of thinking involved in the gestalt approach to problem solving?

A
  1. Reproductive
    ○ Systematic re-use of previous experience
    ○ Use previous experiences/knowledge to successfully solve the problem.
  2. Productive
    ○ Novel restructuring of a problem
    ○ Existing previous experience isn’t enough to solve the problem successfully so you have to think of something new.
    * Problems requiring productive thinking solved using insight
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7
Q

what is insight?

A
  • Involves a sudden restructuring of a problem
  • Experience of suddenly realising how to solve a problem- Eureka moment- solution comes to you randomly.
  • e.g.: multilated chessboard
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8
Q

what are alternatice representations?

A
  • a way to increase insight through looking at extreme conditions
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9
Q

how do we facilitate insight according to Maier’s (1931) two string problem?

A
  • Participants were provided with hints- use them to solve the problem
  • Had to tie to pieces of string together but they cant both be reached at the same time
    ○ Solution= tie plyers to the string to swing it closer.
  • ** Hints**
    ○ Increase the number of solutions produced on insight problems
    ○ Even subtle hints are useful
  • Way to increase insight
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10
Q

how did Thomas and Lleras (2009) further the tow string problem study?

A
  • Participants required to solve two string problem
  • Regular exercise breaks (in the middle)
    ○ Some participants asked to swing arms, others asked to stretch arms
    ○ Swing arms task was relevant to the problem (task-relevant)
    § Had insight moment so were more likely to solve the problem.
  • found that hints can be effective without conscious awareess of task relevance (unconscious mind influenced).
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11
Q

what is incubation and how does it facilitate insight?

A
  • Problem is put to one side for some time
  • Move away from problem for a little bit of time.
  • Subconscious mind continues to work towards a solution- conscious mind stops trying to solve the problem.
  • Forget previously failed strategies and adopt new approach- adopt a new approach.
    ○ Incubation vs control group working continuously
    ○ Sleeping effective form of incubation
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12
Q

how does changing the problem representation facilitate insight?

A
  • Sometimes encounter a block (or impasse) when solving a problem because it is represented wrongly
  • Change the way the problem is represented in our mind.
  • Need to change problem representation for insight to occur
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13
Q

how does contraint relaxation facilitate insight?

A

inhibitions on what is regarded as permissible removed
○ Assume you cant do something even if you can
○ Have general assumptions of what you can and cant do to solve a problem
§ Often we put constraints on what we can and cant do (even though you can do something)

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14
Q

how does re-encoding facilitate insight?

A

some aspect of problem representation reinterpreted
Recreate new steps to solve the problem

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15
Q

how does ellaboration facilitate insight?

A

new problem information is added to the representation
Add new information to solve the problem

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16
Q

what is representational change theory (Ohlsson, 1992)?

A
  1. Problem representation= how the problem is represented in mindset (representation)
    ○ Based on previous experience
  2. Then search for possible solutions
  3. If unable to search for solution, get impasse (mental block)
  4. Then start searching for another solution (flow through back and forth process)
  5. Go through representational change (change perception of problem in mind) and then can start to work on finding a new approach to solving the problem
    - From impasse, step away, change focus of problem, have insight moment
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17
Q

how does the nine-dot problem support the idea that contraints must be relaxed?

A
  • have to go outside of the dots to be able to successfully solve the problem
18
Q

how does past experience influence problem solving?

A
  • Past experience increases our ability to solve problems
  • However, we can be misled by our past experience
    ○ Have past experiences that aren’t the right solution for a new problem.
    Functional fixedness
    Mental set
19
Q

what is functional fixedness (dunker, 1945)?

A
  • Mistakenly assume that a given object has a limited number of uses
    ○ Nail candle to wall using pins?
    ○ Melt candle with matches and stick to wall?
  • Fixated on pin box function as container, rather than platform- other objects have different functions.
    ○ Empty pin box, use empty pin box to hold candle, and pin to wall!
20
Q

what is mental set?

A
  • Tendency to use a familiar problem-solving strategy that has proved successful in the past
    ○ Use something we know that works again.
    ○ Allows similar problems to be solved rapidly
    • Three water jars problem
21
Q

how does Luchins (1942) dejonstate mental set through the 3 water jars problem?

A

○ Subjects were given a series of problems based on water jugs that can contain different amounts of water. Using those jugs as measuring jugs, the participants had to end up with a set amount of water.
* For example: If jug A can hold 18 litres, jug B can hold 43 litres and jug C can hold 10 litres, how can end up with 5 litres?
* The answer is to fill jug B with 43 litres. From jug B you then need to fill jug A and pour out the contents, then fill jug C from the remainder of jug B twice, emptying jug C each time. This will leave you with 5 litres in jug B.
* After solving a series of such problems, they started to infer the rule for finding the solution as B - A - 2C
* they were then given anothe rprobme that didnt fit the ruile nad many participants struggeld to solve it even though it was much simpler becau ethey were fixated on the rule.

22
Q

what did Newell and Simon (1972) discuss about problem solving strategies?

A

○ We have very limited short-term memory capacity and processing is typically serial
§ In how much information it can hold
§ Have to take it one step at a time to solve a problem.
○ How do we solve problems given our limited capacity?
§ Used knowledge-lean problems ]
* tower of hanoi

23
Q

what are heuristics?

A
  • rules of thumb
  • Easy to use and often produce correct answers
  • Means-end analysis
    ○ Note the difference between the current problem state and the goal state
    ○ Form a sub-goal to reduce the difference between the current and goal states
    § Don’t have to get to goal directly.
    § Make goal easier
    ○ Select a mental operator (e.g., move or moves) that permits attainment of the sub-goal
24
Q

what is a cognitive miser?

A
  • Someone who is typically economical with their time and effort on tasks requiring thinking
    Requires little thinking and effort from the individual.
25
Q

what is the cognitive reflection test?

A

○ Provides evidence of the extent to which people are cognitive misers

26
Q

how do cognitive misers overlap with the use of heuristics?

A

○ Misers resort to simplest strategy
○ Unlike heuristics (used due to limited capacity), misers are reluctant to engage in effortful processing rather than because they cannot
Because they don’t want to

27
Q

what is analogical problem solving?

A
  • Involves solving problems using analogies
  • Very important in everyday life
    Deal with novel situations by relating them to situations encountered previously
28
Q

what do analogies involve?

A
  • Analogies involve a comparison between current/previous problems, and highlighting similarities
    ○ Similar to past experiences- using them to solve the problem.
29
Q

what arethe 3 main types of similarity between problems?

A
  1. superficial
  2. structureal
  3. procedural
30
Q

what is superficial similarity?

A
  • solution-irrelevant details are common to the two problems
    At face value, problems look very similar but the solution is very different.
31
Q

what is structural similarity?

A
  • causal relation among some of the main components are shared by both problems
    ○ The structure of the problem is very similar to another
    ○ The key components are the same
32
Q

what is procedural similarity?

A

procedures for turning the solution principle into concrete operations are common to both problems
The procedure for the problems are similar

33
Q

what did Gick and Holyoak (1980) study about analogy detection?

A
  • When participants told story would help them solve tumour problem, 80% solved
  • However, only 40% did so when not informed of the relevance of the story (not told it could help them)
    ○ Lack of superficial similarities between the two stories (e.g. mines)
    § Very different at face value
    ○ The features shared by two problems important, helping people to see the relevance
    § The features of the problems are similar
34
Q

what is expertise?

A
  • Considerable specialist knowledge
    ○ Very efficient at problem solving
    ○ High-level of thinking as a result of practice
  • Knowledge-rich problems
    ○ knowledge beyond that contained within the problem
35
Q

What is chess expertise?

A
  • Advantages to studying chess playing:
    ○ Can measure chess players’ level of skill very precisely based on their results from other players (ELO ranking system)
    ○ Detailed longitudinal data of tournament performance over time.
  • Why are some people better than others?
    PRACTICE! ~10,000h to become a grandmaster
36
Q

do chess players have superior visual memory than non-chess players?

A
  • Shown board for 5s and had to then replicate the board they had seen as accurately as possible.
  • Grandmasters were much more successful than novice players.
  • Difference in performance not due to better visual memory generally
    ○ Due to knowing chess more.
    ○ When presented with positions that were unlikely to arise, experts no better than novices
  • Chess players possess more chess-related information in long-term memory
    ○ Accessed rapidly
    ○ Narrow-down possible moves to consider
    ○ Use their long-term memory to help them be more successful
37
Q

what is eye tracking and medical expertise?

A
  • Technique that provides information about the focus of attention
  • Monitor eye tracking to see what individuals look at when making decisions
  • Several differences found between medical experts and novices
    ○ Shorter fixations- quicker detection of what is going on
    ○ faster first fixations on task-relevant information- looked at what was relevant
    ○ More fixations on task- relevant information- more relevant and quicker
    longer saccades (rapid eye movements)- rapid eye movements very quickly occurring while looking at relevant info
38
Q

what is eye tracking?

A
  • Eye tracking evidence consistent with…
    ○ Information-reduction hypothesis, efficient and selective allocation of attention
    ○ Holistic model, experts extract information from a wider area with each fixation
    Look more specifically at relevant info compared to novice learners.
39
Q

what is plasticity?

A

changes in structure/function of the brain that affect behaviour and are related to experience
○ Malleable (can change)

40
Q

how do london taxi drivers demonstate brain plasticity?

A
  • London Taxi drivers- “The Knowledge”
    ○ Greater volume of grey matter in posterior hippocampus than novice drivers
    ○ But correlational evidence = issues with causation (i.e., cannot be sure that acquiring The Knowledge causes hippocampal changes.
    § There is little causation- not sure if hippocampal changes are due to nature or nurture.
  • Maguire et al
41
Q

what is deliberate practice?

A
  • Prolonged, deliberate practice over many years essential to become an expert
    ○ Lots of practice to become an expert
  • Reduces the negative effects of limited memory capacity
    ○ Rapid transfer of information from long-term memory
  • Quicker at transferring info from short term memory to long term memory
42
Q

what are the 4 aspects involved in deliberate practice?

A
  1. Appropriate level of difficulty
    ○ Not too easy or difficult
  2. Feedback
    ○ Is important
  3. Repeat task
    ○ To help get better
  4. Correct errors
    ○ What went wrong and what to do next time

cognitive research (12 decks)

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