problem solving and reasoning Flashcards
what are the two states of problem solving?
Two states: current position & goal
purposeful process
goal directed
brain area involved in problem solving
frontal lobe
what happened when Goel & Grafman (2000) asked a person with frontal lobe damage to design a building?
Couldn’t go from problem structuring to problem solving. He can understand the brief - make an office - his vision etc is fine - but couldn’t piece the information from the brief to the actual architecture. This is due to poor problem solving abilities.
well defined
Well-defined:
– Current position, possible moves, and goal well
specified
– e.g., Chess
ill defined
Ill-defined:
– Current position, possible moves and goal not well
specified
– e.g., most problems in life!
knowledge rich
Knowledge-rich:
– Only solvable via relevant knowledge
– e.g., chess, again!
knowledge lean
Knowledge-lean:
– Can be solved without needing prior knowledge
– All information contained in presentation of problem
– e.g., most lab-based examples
That ‘ah ha’ moment
Point at which solution to problem is suddenly seen
when Ps completed a remote associates test - given three words and then say what connects them all – Fence, Card, Master – Post - what brain area was activate when they had the ah ha moment?
– Increased activity in superior temporal gyrus when they have increased insight
does STG cause insight or problem solving?
This does not mean that STG causes insight or problem solving, its just correlation
Is insight special?
Insight is experienced as a sudden “Aha!” moment.
However, research suggests it may not be a separate cognitive process.
Gradual accumulation of knowledge may occur before awareness.
Ellis et al. (2011) - Anagram Study - what did they find when Participants solved anagrams (e.g., KAFMS) and eye movements were tracked during problem-solving.
“Aha!” moments reported, but eye-tracking showed a gradual decrease in fixations on irrelevant letters before the solution.
Suggests knowledge builds unconsciously before awareness.
Insight as an unconscious process?
Insight may feel sudden but could be the result of gradual, unconscious processing.
Higher-order cognitive processes work toward a solution before conscious awareness.
We only recognize insight once a threshold is reached.
can gradual accumulation explain all insight problems?
Does the gradual knowledge accumulation model fit all complex problem-solving tasks?
Some problems might require a genuinely sudden restructuring rather than slow accumulation.
What is incubation in problem-solving?
Incubation: Taking a break from direct problem-solving.
Many people report solving problems after stepping away.
Sio & Ormerod (2009): Meta-analysis found what in relation to incubtaion
found incubation led to small but consistent improvements, especially for creative problems.
How does sleep facilitate insight?
“Sleep on it” is a common strategy for problem-solving.
Wagner et al. (2004): Sleep increased insight in a number-string task where a hidden rule was present.
Front: Wagner et al. (2004) - Number String Task
Participants worked with three-digit sequences.
They had to mentally process digits and apply an explicit rule.
A hidden rule existed that, once discovered, made the task much easier.
Sleep improved the likelihood of discovering the hidden rule.
Functional fixedness:
Can’t see new uses for objects when youve learned its use
Mental set
Sticking to old strategies even when bad
medical expertise
Experts diagnose cancer <1 sec
Less fixation on irrelevant details
Chess Expertise
Experts remember board positions (not better general memory)
Quick eye focus on key pieces
More time = better moves
Expertise vs. Experience
Lab tasks = knowledge-lean
Real-world problems need expertise (built over years)
