Problem solving and creativity Flashcards
What 7 steps are part of the problem-solving cycle?
Problem identification, definition of problem, constructing a strategy for problem solving, organizing information about a problem, allocation of resources, monitoring problem solving, and evaluating problem solving
Breaking down the whole of a complex problem into manageable elements:
analysis
Putting together various elements to arrange them into something useful:
synthesis
Try to generate a diverse assortment of possible alternative solutions:
divergent thinking
Narrow down the multiple possibilities to converge on a single best answer:
convergent thinking
Well-structured problems:
clear paths to solutions
Well-structured problems are also knows as?
Well-defined problems
Ill-structured problems:
lack clear paths to solutions
Ill-structured problems are also knows as?
ill-defined problems
What are the 3 kinds of errors people make when trying to solve well-structured problems?
Inadvertently moving backwards, making illegal moves, not realizing the nature of the next legal move.
Reverting to a state that is further from the end goal:
inadvertently moving backwards
Making a move that is not permitted according to the terms of the problem:
making illegal moves
Becoming “stuck”, not knowing what to do next, given the current stage of the problem:
not realizing the nature of the next legal move
The universe of all possible actions that can be applied to solving a problem, given any constraints that apply to the solution of the problem:
problem space
Sequences of operations that may be repeated over and over again and that guarantee the solution of a problem:
algorithms
Mental shortcuts:
heuristics
Informal, intuitive, speculative strategies that sometimes lead to an effective solution and sometimes do not:
heuristics
What are four types of heuristics?
means-end analysis, working forward, working backward, and generate and test.
The problem solver analyzes the problem by viewing the end- the goal being sought- and then tries to decrease the distance between the current position in the problem space and the end goal in that space:
Means-end analysis
The problem solver starts at the beginning and tries to solve the problem from the start to finish:
working forward
The problem solver starts at the end and tries to work backward from there:
working backward
The problem solver simply generates alternative courses of action, not necessarily in a systematic way, and then notices in turn whether each course of action will work:
generate and test
Isomorphic problems:
the formal structure is the same and only the content differs
A distinctive and sometimes sudden understanding of a problem or a strategy that aids in solving the problem:
insight
Insights that go beyond the bounds of existing associations:
productive thinking
existing associations involving what is all ready known:
reproductive thinking
A frame of mind involving an existing model for representing a problem, a problem context, or a procedure for problem solving:
mental set
Another word for mental set:
entrenchment
The inability to realize that something known to have a particular use may also be used for performing other functions:
functional fixedness
Beliefs that members of a social group tend more or less uniformly to have particular types of characteristics:
stereotypes
A carryover of knowledge or skills from one problem situation to another:
transfer
solving an earlier problem makes it harder to solve a later one:
negative transfer
The solution of an earlier problem makes it easier to solve a new problem:
positive transfer
an effort to overcome obstacles obstructing the path to a solution:
problem solving
putting the problem aside for a while without consciously thinking about it
incubation
The process of producing something that is both original and worthwhile:
creativity
