Problem Solving and Intelligence Flashcards
Problem-solving
Process during which one defines a goal and seeks steps to achieve it.
Types of problems
Well defined, ill defined, knowledge rich and knowledge lean.
Problem Space
Set of all solutions to a problem. Very large, therefore we use heuristics.
Hill-climbing Strategy
Choose the option that is in the direction of the goal.
Means-ends Analysis
Asking how the current state can be made more like the goal state.
Working-backwards
Starting at the goal state and working backwards to the current state.
Representational Change Theory
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.
Analogy
Making links between current problems and problems that have already been solved. Need to ensure the analogy maps onto the current problem correctly.
Expertise
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.
Functional Fixedness
The tendency to be rigid in thinking about an objects function.
Problem Solving Set (Einstellung)
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.
Creativity
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.
Wallas’s Creative Framework
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.
Intelligence
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.
Fluid and Crystallised Intelligence
Fluid -ability to deal with new things and solve new problems (declines with age)
Crystallised - general knowledge and skills (increases with age).
Genetics, Environment and IQ
Genetics provide the base/range of intelligence, but environment determines whether or not the individual will reach their intelligence potential.
Gender Differences in IQ
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.
Racial Differences in IQ
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.
Flynn Effect
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.
