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Cognitive Psychology > Problem Solving > Flashcards

Problem Solving Flashcards

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1
Q

what is problem solving according to Mayer 1990

A

cognitive processing directed at transforming a given situation into a goal situation when no obvious method of solution is available to the problem-solver

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2
Q

what type of processing does problem solving involve

A

cognitive not automatic

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3
Q

what type of activity does problem solving involve

A

directed or purposeful

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4
Q

how is problem solving personal

A

only exists when someone lacks the relevant knowledge to produce an immediate solution

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5
Q

how is problem solving studied

A

using simple laboratory based problems

  • find basic principles
  • generalise to more complex settings
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6
Q

what is a well-defined problem

A

all necessary information available

- have an optimal strategy and one right answer - used in most lab based tasks

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7
Q

what info is provided in a well-defined problem

A
  • initial state of problem
  • goal-state
  • permissible moves (legal operators)
  • operator restrictions (constraints)
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8
Q

whats an ill-defined problem

A

lack of clarity at outset

-know what the goal is, but nothing in the problem describes how to accomplish the goal

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9
Q

what are knowledge-rich problems

A

can only be solved by individuals possessing a considerable amount of specific knowledge
- most research on expertise involves these types of problems

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10
Q

eg of knowledge-rich problems

A

medics

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11
Q

what are knowledge-lean problems

A

doesnt require the possession of specific knowledge

-most traditional research requires these types of problems

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12
Q

eg of knowledge-lean problems

A

the monty hall problem

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13
Q

fallibility as problem solvers - the monty hall problem

A

85% make wrong decision (stick) - why?

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14
Q

de nays & verschueren 2006 - the monty hall problem

A
  • demands made on the central executive

* 22% correct fell to 8% when performed with concurrent CE task

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15
Q

burns & weith 2004 - Problem representation - the monty hall problem

A

assume hosts choice randon (it isnt - he always choses a goat)

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16
Q

Thorndike 1898 - early approaches to PS

A

behaviourist approach

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17
Q

operant conditioning - law of effect - Thorndike

A
  • hungry cat in cage
  • food outside cage
  • initially ran around cage, attacked bard, only slowly increased speed of escape
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18
Q

how was the law of effect termed - thorndike - operant conditioning - hungry cats in cage

A

trial and error learning

  • reproduction of previously learning responses
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19
Q

Kohler 1925 - Gestalt Approach - apes - reproductive vs productive thinking

A
  • apes show productive thinking
  • cage sticks too short to reach banana outside
  • eventually restructure: join 2 sticks together to form longer one and obtain banana
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20
Q

what is the reproductive vs productive thinking - gestalt approach

A

applying existing strategy vs restructuring problem to come up with novel solution

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21
Q

what are insight problems - gestalt approach

A

require problem to be seen in a novel way, different to how seen initially
-restructure your initial problem representation to solve

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22
Q

how can restructuring be aided

A

by highlighting relevant objects

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23
Q

Battersby, Teuber & Bender 1953 - insight

A
  • restricted group - told to use certain objects
  • unrestricted group - use any object in room
  • restricted average 2.5 mins - unrestricted 15 mins
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24
Q

why was Ollinger et als nine-dot problem difficult

A

perceptual organisation of problem causes people to make inappropriate assumptions

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25
Q

what is the assumption that people make in Ollinger et als nine-dot problem

A

the 4 lines must lie within the square

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26
Q

whats the first stage of Opportunistic Assimilation - insight

A

fail to solve problem, ‘failure indices’ stored in LTM

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27
Q

whats the second stage of opportunistic assimilation - insight

A

enter incubation stage - not consciously worked on

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28
Q

whats the third stage of opportunistic assimilation - insight

A

‘failure indices’ lead to unconscious processing

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29
Q

whats the fourth stage of opportunistic assimilation - insight

A

previously ignored information now receives attention

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30
Q

whats the fifth stage of opportunistic assimilation - insight

A

potential for solution found? - move from incubation to insight stage

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31
Q

whats the items and order of items in opportunistic assimilation

A
  1. Fail to solve problem, ‘failure indices’ stored in LTM
  2. Enter incubation stage – not consciously worked on
  3. ‘Failure indices’ lead to unconscious processing
  4. Previously ignored information now receives attention
  5. Potential solution found?
    move from incubation to insight stage
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32
Q

whats incubation important for

A

insightful problem solving

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33
Q

Wallas 1926 - incubation

A

problem often solved more easily by simply leaving it alone for some time

34
Q

penaloza & calvillo 2012- incubation

A

time away allows one to forget misleading information

35
Q

whats the first finding form sio & ormeod 2009 meta analysis - incubation

A

incubation effects were reported in 73% of the studies

36
Q

whats the second finding from sio & ormeod 2009 meta analysis - incubation

A

incubation effects were stronger with creative problems (those having multiple solution) than with linguistic/verbal problems (those having a single solution)

37
Q

whats the third finding from sio & ormeod 2009 meta-analysis - incubation

A

sleep enhanced performance in difficult but not easy problems

38
Q

whats metcalfe and weibe’s 1979 first point about the differences insightful/non-insightful problem solving

A

our ability to predict problem solving success

39
Q

what are the routine problems to metcalfe and weibes first point - insight in PS

A

we can often predict our ability to solve routine problems prior to attempting to solve them

40
Q

what are the insight problems to metcalfe and weibes first point - insight in PS

A

we are poor at predicting our success on these types of problems

41
Q

whats metcalfe and weibe’s 1979 second point about the differences insightful/non-insightful problem solving

A

15 sec intervals - predict how close vs far we feel to solution

42
Q

what are the routine problems with metcalfe and weibes second point - insight in PS

A

incremental increase in feelings of warmth as solution gets closer

43
Q

what are the insight problems with metcalfe and weibes second point - insight in PS

A

sudden increase in warmth moments before abruptly realising solution

44
Q

what do metcalfe and weibe say about the solvers in insight problems

A

they do not have an accurate ‘feeling of knowing’ when solving insight problems

45
Q

what do Gestaltists say about past experience being beneficial to PS

A

can be beneficial or disruptive

46
Q

Dunker 1945 - matchbox problem - past experience - always beneficial?

A
  • task - mount candle on vertical screen
  • objects available - pins &box of matches
  • solution - use box as candle holder, pin to wall
  • difficult: we perceive box as container not a platform
47
Q

what is functional fixedness

A

assumption from experience objects have only a small no. of possible functions & uses
- prevents insightful PS

48
Q

mental set - Einstellung

A

people tend to use a well-practiced strategy on problems even when it is inappropriate or sub-optimal
- mental set so strong that final problem is not solved - fixation on previous solution

49
Q

what do Gestaltists say about mental sets

A

habituation creates a mechanised state of mind, a blind attitude towards problems, one does not look at the problem on its own merits but is led by a mechanical application of a used method

50
Q

what are the successes of the Gestalt Approach

A
  • demonstrated Productive vs Reproductive thinking
  • previous experience - adverse or beneficial
  • role of restructuring and insight
51
Q

what are the problems with the Gestalt Approach

A
  • studies poorly designed and hard to replicate
  • past experience usually beneficial - functional fixedness uncommon in everyday life
  • theoretical: processes behind restructuring and insight not specified
52
Q

Ohlsson 1992 - Representational Change Theory

A
  • we encounter an impasse when solving a problem because we have represented it wrongly and cant solve it
  • in order to break to the impasse we need to change how the problem is represented
53
Q

what are the 3 ways we can change the way a problem is represented - representational change theory

A
  1. constraint relaxation
  2. Re-encoding
  3. Elaboration
54
Q

whats constraint relaxation - representational change theory

A

inhibitions on what is regarded as permissible are removed

55
Q

what is re-encoding - representational change theory

A

some aspect of the problem representation is reinterpreted

56
Q

what is elaboration - representational change theory

A

new problem information is added to the representation

57
Q

when does insight occur according to the representational change theory

A

when impasse is broken and the retrieved knowledge is sufficient to solve the problem

58
Q

what is the problem space theory - Newell and Simon 1972

A

think aloud procedures to abstract general problem solving strategies

59
Q

whats the first assumption of the problem space theory

A

information-processing is serial

60
Q

whats the second assumption of the problem space theory

A

we possess a limited short-term memory capacity

61
Q

whats the third assumption of the problem space theory

A

we can retrieve relevant info from long-term memory

62
Q

what did newell and simons problem space theory create

A

a general problem solver

63
Q

whats a general problem solver

A

computer program designed to solve numerous well-define problems

64
Q

what are mental operators - problem space theory

A

tools used to transform initial state into goal state

65
Q

what are constraints - problem save theory

A

restrict the options available

66
Q

what are mental operators - problem space theory

A

encode legal moves and restrictions that explicitly dissallow moves under certain conditions

67
Q

how do processes occur - problem space theory

A

within limitations of cognitive system

68
Q

path from initial to goal state - problem space theory

A

there are lots of alternative paths

69
Q

what is basic problem space - problem space theory

A

total set of such states (restricted by legal operators)

70
Q

how do you solve a problem - problem space theory

A

by navigating problem space from initial state to goal state

71
Q

where is the problem space theory applied

A
  • tower of Hanoi

* missionaries and cannibals problem

72
Q

what are heuristics - navigating the problem space

A

rules of thumb - means-ends analysis

  • not difference between current and goals states
  • create sub-goal to reduce this difference
  • select mental operator that will permit attainment of subgoal
73
Q

what are algorithms - navigating the problem space

A

methods or procedures for solving a problem

74
Q

what makes a problem difficult to solve

A

we try to move from initial to goal state - hence problems requiring a move away from gaol state thereby increasing difference between current and goal state should be problematic

75
Q

advantages of computational approach - cog processes

A

human cognitive processes stimulated by computer

- revolutionary view 1960/70s

76
Q

advantages of computational approach - heuristics

A

emphasised over algorithmic methods broadly consistent with our knowledge of human info processing
- limited capacity helps explain why we use heuristics

77
Q

limitations of computational method - types of problems

A
  • suited to well-defined problems
  • well-defined problems - rely on heuristics

-ill-defined problems - require appropriate knowledge

78
Q

limitations of computational method - individual differences

A

ignores individual differences in problem solving

79
Q

what type of problems does research into expertise typically use

A

knowledge-rich problems

80
Q

De Groot 1966 - expertise in chess

A
  • shown chess positions that asked to reconstruct them
  • experts accurary - 91%
  • novices accurace - 41%
81
Q

what did De Groot find - experts in chess

A
  • when positions were in random arrangements (not real chess) experts were no better than novices
  • therefore chess experts dont have better memory just more efficient encoding

Cognitive Psychology (7 decks)

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