Problem Solving and Insight Flashcards
Describe Newell & Simon’s GPS.
- it is a device that is capable of solving problems in a variety of ways.
- embodied a set of broad techniques used by humans to solve problems in the general sense.
- involved an implicit theory of cognition and how cognition could be naturalized.
Why did the GPS project fail?
- there was continual failure to produce a genuine GPS.
- used a flawed methodology; it took a completely reverse- engineering approach to mechanization
- falsely assumed problems form a unified category and are in some important sense the same
- falsely assumed that problem formulation is a smaller and easier job than the rest of the problem solving process
According to Holyoak, what must a theory of problem solving explain?
- how goals are formed.
- how heuristics develop.
- how problems are decomposed.
- how planning is conducted.
- how learning takes place during problem solving.
- how knowledge acquired in one situation is transferred to another.
What did Duncker observe about his “radiation problem” experiment in 1945?
- subjects developed increasingly refined solutions that could be reached by following one or more basic search paths
- the “radiation problem” can be can be described in terms of the search space model of problem solving.
Describe means-end analysis.
- Identify differences between goal state and initial state.
- Select an operator that would reduce the differences. 3. Apply operator if possible; if not, set a new sub-goal (recursion)
- Return to step 1
Describe the production-system model of problem solving.
- central component is a set of production rules
- each rule represents knowledge required for appropriate application of a problem-solving operator
- have been extremely influential in the development of modern cognitive science
What evidence implicates the frontal lobe as an area involved in problem solving?
• people with frontal lesions suffer from decrements in cognition; they have hard time solving new problems
• frontal lobe damage leads to deficits in the ordering or handling of sequential behaviours; impairment in establishing, maintaining, or changing a mental
“set”; decreased ability to monitor personal behavior; dissociation of knowledge from the direction of action; and various changes in normal emotional and motivational responses
Describe the search space model of problem solving.
• consists of an initial state, goal state, operators and path constraints
Describe the no free lunch theorem.
- claims that “any two optimization algorithms are equivalent when their performance is averaged across all possible problems”
- while some scholars argue that NFL conveys important insight, others argue that NFL is of little relevance to machine learning research
State the two classes of problems.
• Well-defined • Ill-defined
How could you go about investigating how expertise develops?
• conduct research comparing the performance of expert and novice problem solvers.
What is the common basis for most models of learning?
- they all assume a production-system representation for procedural knowledge.
- by inspecting the results of a solution attempt, learning mechanisms can encode important regularities into new rules
What are the drawbacks of the search metaphor for problem solving?
• it doesn’t capture the full picture of the mental processes that underlie problem solving.
What is lateral thinking?
- a manner of problem solving that uses an indirect and creative approach via reasoning.
- typically defined in contrast to vertical thinking.
What is the rationale behind the idea of problem solving being a fundamental cognitive process?
- we encounter problems with high regularity
- we acquire considerable competence in solving particular problems encountered in life
- the ability to solve problems is clearly a crucial part of intelligence
