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Cognitive Psychology > Problem Solving > Flashcards

Problem Solving Flashcards

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1
Q

When does a problem occur?

A

When there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal, and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle.

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2
Q

What was problem solving for Gestalt psychologists about? (2)

A

How people represent a problem in their mind, and how solving a problem involves a reorganisation or restructuring of his representation.

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3
Q

According to the Gestalt approach, success in solving a problem is influenced by what?

A

How it is represented in a person’s mind.

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4
Q

What is restructuring?

A

What the Gestalt psychologists called the process of changing the problems’s representation.

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5
Q

What is restructuring associated with?

A

Insight.

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6
Q

Define insight.

A

The sudden realisation of a problem’s solution.

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7
Q

What kind of experiment did Metcalfe and Wiebe perform?

A

One to distinguish between insight and noninsight problems.

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8
Q

One of the major obstacles to problem solving, according to the Gestalt psychologists, is:

A

Fixation.

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9
Q

Define fixation.

A

People’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution.

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10
Q

What type of fixation is functional fixedness?

A

Where focusing on familiar functions or uses of an object works against solving a problem.

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11
Q

Who first described the candle problem?

A

Duncker.

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12
Q

What is the candle problem an example of?

A

Functional fixedness.

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13
Q

Explain the candle problem.

A

Participants are given candles, a matchbox containing matches, and thumbtacks, and are instructed to find a way to mount a candle on the wall so it will burn without dripping wax on the floor. The solution is to use the matchbox as a container.

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14
Q

What happened in Duncker and Adamson’s candle problem experiments when subjects were given an empty matchbox with the matches separate?

A

The group with empty boxes found the task easier.

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15
Q

What is Maier’s two string problem an example of?

A

Functional fixedness.

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16
Q

How was Maier’s interaction with the string an example of Gestalt restructuring?

A

Once participants saw the strong swinging, insight was triggered and they realised they could use the pliers as a weight and create a pendulum, meaning that they restructured their representation of how to achieve a solution, and the representation of the function of the pliers.

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17
Q

Why are the candle problem and two-string problem difficulty?

A

Because of people’s preconceptions about the uses of objects.

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18
Q

What are preconceptions about the uses of objects?

A

A type of mental set.

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19
Q

What is a mental set?

A

A preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person’s experience or what has worked in the past.

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20
Q

Give an example of how mental set can arise out of a situation created as a person solves a problem.

A

Luchins water jug problem.

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21
Q

How did Newell and Simon describe problem solving?

A

As a search that occurs between the posing of the problem and its solution.

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22
Q

How did Newell and Simon see problems?

A

As an initial state.

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23
Q

What is the initial state?

A

Conditions at the beginning of a problem.

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24
Q

What is the goal state?

A

The solution.

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25
Q

What did Newell and Simon introduce the idea of?

A

Operators.

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26
Q

Define operators.

A

Actions that take the problem from one state to another.

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27
Q

According to Newell and Simon, what does each action create?

A

An intermediate state.

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28
Q

Define Newell and Simon’s problem state.

A

All the possible intermediate states for a particular problem.

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29
Q

According to Newell and Simon, to solve a problem people have 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:

A

Means-end analysis.

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30
Q

What is the primary goal of means-end analysis?

A

To reduce the difference between the initial and goal states.

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31
Q

How is reduction of the difference between the initial and goal states achieved by means-end analysis?

A

Sub-goals.

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32
Q

What are subgoals?

A

Intermediate states that are closer to the goal.

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33
Q

What does the multilated checkerboard problem ask?

A

If we remove two corner squares of the checkerboard, can we now cover the remaining squares with 31 dominos?

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34
Q

Why, in Kaplan and Simon’s mutilated checkerboard problem, did the subjects in the bread and butter condition solve the problem twice as fast?

A

Boards that emphasised the difference between adjoining squares found the problem easier, because bread and butter are different but related.

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35
Q

To achieve a better understanding of subject’s thought processes as they were solving the problem, Kaplan and Simon used a technique called:

A

The think-aloud technique.

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36
Q

What occurs in the think-aloud procedure?

A

Subjects are asked to say out loud what they are thinking while solving a problem. Not to describe what they are doing, but to verbalise new thoughts as they occur.

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37
Q

Give one goal of think-aloud protocol.

A

To determine what information the person is attending to while solving a problem.

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38
Q

What does the think-aloud procedure reveal?

A

The shift in how a person perceives elements of a problem.

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39
Q

What do we call the use of analogy to solve problems?

A

Analogical problem solving.

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40
Q

Define analogy.

A

Using the solution to a similar problem to guide solution of a new problem.

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41
Q

Define analogical transfer.

A

The transfer from one problem to another

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42
Q

Two key terms that are used in research on analogical transfer are:

A

Target problem and source problem.

43
Q

Define target problem.

A

The problem the subject is trying to solve.

44
Q

Define source problem.

A

Another problem which shares similarities with the target problem and illustrates a way to solve the target problem.

45
Q

Name a problem that is widely used in research on analogical problem solving.

A

Duncker’s radiation problem.

46
Q

Name Gick and Holyoak’s three steps of analogical problem solving.

A

Noticing, mapping and applying.

47
Q

Explain Gick and Holyoak’s noticing step.

A

Noticing that there is a analogous relationship between the source problem and the target problem, which is crucial.

48
Q

Which of Gick and Holyoak’s steps is most difficult?

A

Noticing.

49
Q

The most effective source stories are those that are:

A

Most similar to the target problem.

50
Q

Explain Gick and Holyoak’s mapping step.

A

Mapping the corresponded between the source story and the target problem.

51
Q

Explain Gick and Holyoak’s applying step.

A

Applying the mapping to generate a parallel solution to the target problem.

52
Q

Give something that makes noticing difficult.

A

Surface features.

53
Q

What are surface features?

A

Specific elements of the problem.

54
Q

Who tested the idea that making surface features similar may help subjects notice the relationship between the source and target problem? (2)

A

Holyoak and Koh.

55
Q

What are structural features?

A

The underlying principle which governs the solution.

56
Q

What is analogical encoding?

A

The process by which two problems are compared and similarities between them are determined.

57
Q

Who demonstrated analogical encoding?

A

Gentner and GoldinMeadow.

58
Q

How did Gentner and GoldinMeadow demonstrate analogical encoding?

A

By showing that it is possible to get subjects to discover similar structural features by having them compare two cases that illustrate a principle.

59
Q

What does trade-off refer to?

A

A negotiating strategy where one person says ‘if you give me A, I’ll give you B’.

60
Q

What does the strategy of contingency refer to?

A

A negotiating strategy where a person gets what they want if something else happens.

61
Q

What did Gentner conclude about analogical coding?

A

Having people compare source stories is an effective way to achieve analogical coding because it forces them to pay attention to structural features that enhance their ability to solve other problems.

62
Q

Describe Dunbar’s analogical paradox.

A

It is difficult to apply analogies in research, but people use them all the time.

63
Q

Who used in vivo research to investigate analogies in real world settings?

A

Dunbar.

64
Q

Define in vivo problem-solving research.

A

Observing people to determine how they solve problems in real situations.

65
Q

What is the advantage of in vivo research?

A

It captures thinking in naturalistic settings.

66
Q

What are the disadvantages of in vivo research? (2)

A

It is time consuming and it is difficult to isolate and control specific variables.

67
Q

Who are experts?

A

People who, by devoting a large amount of time to learning about a field and practicing and applying that learning, have become knowledgeable or skilled in that particular field.

68
Q

Give three differences between experts and novices.

A

Experts possess more knowledge about their fields, have differently organised knowledge, and spend more time analysing problems.

69
Q

Give an example of experts possessing more knowledge about their fields.

A

Chase and Simon conducted a study where novices and experts memorised the placement of chess pieces on a board and had to recreate it. Experts were better when the pieces were placed in games positions, but were no better than novices when they were arranged randomly.

70
Q

How did experts in Chi’s study sort problems, and how was that different from the novices?

A

The experts sorted problems based on structural features, deep structure, and underlying characteristics and novices on surface characteristics.

71
Q

How do experts spend more time analysing problems?

A

They appear to have a slow start, as they spend time trying to understand the problem rather than immediately trying to solve it, which pays off in a more effective approach to the problem.

72
Q

What is a disadvantage of knowing about the established facts and theories in a field?

A

It may cause experts to be less open to new ways of looking at things.

73
Q

Many examples of creativity focus on:

A

Divergent thinking.

74
Q

What is divergent thinking?

A

Thinking that is open-ended, involving a large number of potential solutions.

75
Q

Kaufman proposes that in addition to being original, a creative response to a problem must be:

A

Useful.

76
Q

Define creativity.

A

Anything made by people that is in some way novel and has potential value or utility.

77
Q

Most creative problem solving includes more than an idea, and what else?

A

A lengthy period of trial-and-error development to turn the idea into a useful device.

78
Q

Give Basadur’s four steps of creative problem solving.

A

Problem generation, problem formation, problem solving, and solution implementation.

79
Q

What did Smith’s study regarding how much knowledge is a bad thing find?

A

Providing examples to people before they solve a problem can influence the nature of their solution.

80
Q

Who proposed group brainstorming?

A

Osborn.

81
Q

What is the purpose of group brainstorming?

A

To encourage people to freely express ideas that might be useful in solving a particular problem.

82
Q

Why does placing people in groups to share ideas result in fewer ideas, than if we added up all the ideas generated by the same number of people asked to think of ideas individually? (3)

A

People may dominate the discussion, people pay attention to others in the group, and some people may feel uncomfortable with expressing their ideas because they are afraid they will be judged.

83
Q

Who developed creative cognition?

A

Finke.

84
Q

What is creative cognition?

A

A method of individual idea generation that trains people to think creatively.

85
Q

Why did Finke call the inventions his subjects made preinventive forms?

A

They are ideas that precede the creation of a finished creative product.

86
Q

What did Finke find about the use of preinventive objects?

A

People were more likely to come up with creative uses for preinventive objects that they had created themselves.

87
Q

What is the idea behind individual brainstorming and Finke’s creative cognition technique?

A

To avoid fixations that limit creativity.

88
Q

Which creative profession are more likely to suffer from mental disorders, and which disorders are they?

A

Writers, and schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

89
Q

Are people in creative professions more likely to develop a mental disorder than the population?

A

No.

90
Q

What relationship is there between schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder and bipolar disorder and creative professions?

A

Close relatives of people with the disorder are more likely to be in creative professions.

91
Q

What suggests a genetically determined trait that is associated with mental illness and creativity?

A

Both creativity and schizophrenia symptoms run in families, and close relatives of people with bipolar disorder score higher on creativity tests.

92
Q

Name a trait that is associated with both mental illness and creativity.

A

Latent inhibition.

93
Q

What is latent inhibition?

A

The ability to screen out stimuli that are considered irrelevant.

94
Q

In which mental disorder is latent inhibition impaired and what are the results of that?

A

Schizophrenia, and being bombarded with an overwhelming flow of incoming information.

95
Q

What is reduced latent inhibition associated with?

A

Creativity and mental illness.

96
Q

What are some characteristics of reduced latent inhibition? (2)

A

Being more open to stimuli that would normally be ignored and higher levels of the personality trait ‘openness to experience’.

97
Q

How does reduced latent inhibition enhance creativity?

A

By increasing the unfiltered stimuli available to conscious awareness, which increases the possibility of creating useful and novel combinations of stimuli.

98
Q

What did Synder consider?

A

Savant syndrome.

99
Q

Define savant syndrome.

A

Where people with autism or mental disorders are able to achieve extraordinary feats.

100
Q

Why does Synder believe that savants can access skills that normal people can’t?

A

They are open to information in the brain that is normally hidden from conscious awareness because of top-down inhibition.

101
Q

What is savant syndrome often associated with?

A

Damage to the ATL.

102
Q

Synder proposed that deactivating the ___ may open people to different ways of perceiving stimuli.

A

ATL.

103
Q

Why did Chi and Synder conclude that we find the problem difficult?

A

Our brains are wired to interpret the world in certain ways, based on past experience.

Cognitive Psychology (6 decks)

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