Problem Solving and Intelligence

Question 1

Problem-solving

Answer 1

Process during which one defines a goal and seeks steps to achieve it.

Question 2

Types of problems

Answer 2

Well defined, ill defined, knowledge rich and knowledge lean.

Question 3

Problem Space

Answer 3

Set of all solutions to a problem. Very large, therefore we use heuristics.

Question 4

Hill-climbing Strategy

Answer 4

Choose the option that is in the direction of the goal.

Question 5

Means-ends Analysis

Answer 5

Asking how the current state can be made more like the goal state.

Question 6

Working-backwards

Answer 6

Starting at the goal state and working backwards to the current state.

Question 7

Representational Change Theory

Answer 7

Problems can be represented in ways that prevent the retrieval of the necessary operators. People need to change how they represent the problem but this can be difficult.

Question 8

Analogy

Answer 8

Making links between current problems and problems that have already been solved. Need to ensure the analogy maps onto the current problem correctly.

Question 9

Expertise

Answer 9

Experts are better at solving problems in their area because they understand deep structure, use analogy, chunk information, understand sub-goals and have greater knowledge of the area.

Question 10

Functional Fixedness

Answer 10

The tendency to be rigid in thinking about an objects function.

Question 11

Problem Solving Set (Einstellung)

Answer 11

The assumptions and beliefs an individual has about a problem. When people develop a strategy, they are unlikely to change it, even if other methods are faster.

Question 12

Creativity

Answer 12

A cognitive activity that results in a novel and useful way of viewing a situation. Great creativity requires knowledge, personality traits, intrinsic motivation and timing.

Question 13

Wallas’s Creative Framework

Answer 13

Preparation, incubation, illumination, verification.
Useful framework
Incubation can help (spreading activation), but illumination is more the development of a new way to solve the problem, not the answer.

Question 14

Intelligence

Answer 14

The ability to reason, plan, solve problems, learn from experience, think abstractly and learn quickly. Not book smart, but helps us make sense of things.

Question 15

Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence

Answer 15

Fluid -ability to deal with new things and solve new problems (declines with age)
Crystallised - general knowledge and skills (increases with age).

Question 16

Genetics, Environment and IQ

Answer 16

Genetics provide the base/range of intelligence, but environment determines whether or not the individual will reach their intelligence potential.

Question 17

Gender Differences in IQ

Answer 17

Men and women are fairly equal in terms of IQ. Men tend to do better on spatial/maths tasks and women do better on verbal tasks. Most likely these differences reflect differences in education and encouragement of certain skills, not genes.

Question 18

Racial Differences in IQ

Answer 18

Black people tend to have lower IQ than white people, however this is not due to genetic differences, rather they are due to the lowered opportunities, lack of resources and stereotyping that black people face.

Question 19

Flynn Effect

Answer 19

Intelligence scores rise about 3 points per decade. This is too fast for genetics and is attributed to better nutrition and a more complex world.