Problem Solving, Pt. 2 Flashcards
Means-end Strategy
If I was trying to make a budget, and I set up specific financial goals then broke them down into more manageable steps, this is most likely me using which strategy?
Ill-Defined Problems
Situations with no clear path to move from the problem to the goal state
-Few task constraints (these are limitations for how to solve the problem)
-There can be multiple solutions
How to solve ill-defined problems
-Often associated with uncertainty of how to solve them
-We must find strategies (not scripted solutions) that fit with our situations
1. Recombine related memories to form imagined hypothetical solutions
2. Remember past experiences related to a problem
Analogical Problem Solving
-Making comparisons across scenarios
-Applying the solution from a past situation to a current problem
-People don’t usually engage in analogical transfer without a hint and low surface similarity
-E.g. applying bathtub situation to solving crown problem
Target Problem
The problem the person is trying to solve
-E.g. what to cook for a dinner party
-E.g. what is the crown made of
Source Problem
The problem that shares similarity with the target problem
-E.g. how was this resolved in past similar scenarios?
-E.g. in bathtub, water being displaced
Notice a Relationship
There is an analogous relationship between source problem (familiar) and target problem (unfamiliar)
Mapping the Correspondence
What is similar between the target and source problems?
-Requires inference and generalization
Apply the Mapping
Generating a parallel solution for the target problme
Solving the ‘‘Tumor’’ Problem
You are goig to be presented with a word problem that requires some creativity to solve
-You may find that the story about invac hints for solving the tumor problem, so if you can
The Fortress Story
You will now read a story about another problem. You will not be asked to solve this problem because the solution will be given to you
Surface Details
Content of scenarios
-It is easier to use a school-related problem to solve a current school-related problem than a related current relationship-related problem
Structural Similarity
-The essence of the problem solutionis stored
-Generalized relationship between problem and solution
Source and Target Similarity
-Target problem : babysitting your niece, and you need to swaddle a baby, but you don’t know how!
-Surface similarity : source scenario confined to past baby problems
-Structural similarity : source scenario expands to burrito folding scenarios (more creative analogical transfer)
Sleep
…to facilitate analogical transfer
= broader connections
Einstellung Effect
Bias to use familiar methods to solve a problem
-Different types of blocks in problem solving
Rigid Thinking
An anibility to seek out a better method to solve a given problem
-E.g. dinner party –> making lentille soup
someone is allergic at party… still going to make that soup
Functional Fixedness
The inability to see beyond the most common use of a particular object
-‘‘Fixed’’ on the known function of an object
The development of Functional Fixedness
-Children of different ages solved the ‘‘candle’’ problem
-Pre-utilization : experience with the objects
-No fixedness in children without pre-utilization
-Too much experience leads to fixedness and the Einstellung effect
Alternate Uses Task
Link to creativity
-E.g. give some uses for a newspaper
Mental Fixedness : Overusing mental sets
-Responding with previously learned rule sequences even when they are inappropriate or less productive
-The tendency to respond inflexibly to a particular type of problem and not alter your response
-E.g. might be fixaded on a solution that isn’t the most effective in reality
Insight Problem Solving
A productive thinking process of forming new patterns or ways to view a problem
-Restructuring a problem leads to a sudden solution
-The Aha moment or insight
Gestalt Switches
-The experience of having a sudden switch in how you see something
Verbal Insight Problems
To break mental sets, to select the novel semantic information and to form novel, task-related associations
Insight results from Impasse
-Mental impasse, which means your stuck in a solution path
-You need insight to overcome impasse by restructuring the problem
-To go forward, you need to go back to problem and restructure
4 Features of Insight
-Suddenness
-Ease
-Positive
-Confidence
Suddenness
The solution pops into mind with surprise
Ease
The solution comes quickly and fluently
Positive
A pleasant experience, even before assessing if the solution is effective
Confidence
The solution is believed to be the right one
Insight Problem Solving
Involunatry and feels like it happens suddenly, with ease and comes with ‘pleasure’
-People cannot accurately predic performance
Non-Insight Problem Solving
Happens gradually and there is an awareness of incremental success
-See mark of success the closer I am getting
-Step by step algorithms help predict performance
not accurate for insight problems
Metacognitive assessments (what you know about what you know) is…
Right Temporal Lobe
TDCS to right ATL (anterior temporal lobe) improves performance on creativity problem solving task (RAT) compared to other TDCS locations or sham
Walking Inspires Insight
2 conditions : alternate uses test (divergent thinking) and well-defined convergent thinking while sitting or walking
-Walking had a large effect on creative insight
