Thinking and Problem Solving - Chapter 10 Content

Question 1

Define thinking.

Answer 1

Thinking is going beyond given info, filling up gaps in evidence, process of searching through a problem space

Question 2

What are the 2 categories of thinking?

Answer 2

1. Focused (goal-based, problem-solving)
2. Unfocused (daydreaming, intentional)

Question 3

What are the 2 types of problems with thinking?

Answer 3

1. WELL defined: they have a beginning and rend with rules and guidelines, a clear path and steps on how to achieve your end goal
2. ILL defined: not a clear path to understand the concept more, harder to study in labs for research

Question 4

What are the 5 techniques used to solve problems?

Answer 4

1. generate and test
2. means-ends
3. working backwards
4. back racking
5. reasoning by analogy

Question 5

Explain the generate and test technique.

Answer 5

This technique works by generating a number of solutions and then testing them to see if it solves the problem. This can only work for problems with a limited number of possibilities.

Problematic: when there are too many possibilities, no guidance over a generation, and you cannot keep track of all the possibilities already tested.

Question 6

Explain the means-end technique.

Answer 6

The main thing around this is that there is a problem space with 4 different states:
1. initial state - conditions at the beginning of the problem, where you start
2. goal state - condition at the end of the problem, where you wanna be
3. intermediate state - various conditions that exist along the pathway between the initial and goal state, all the states that bring you to your goal
4. operators - permissible moves that can be made towards the problem’s solutions, the rules you must follow to get to your goal

Creating a solution path with goals and sub-goals to eventually reduce the difference between the initial and goal state.

Question 7

Explain the working backward technique.

Answer 7

This involves creating sub-goals and reducing the difference between the current state and the goal state. The main thing is the sub-goals are created by working backwards from the goal state.

Question 8

Explain the backtracking technique.

Answer 8

This involves making working assumptions in order to correct your mistakes in problem-solving. You need to remember, assess and correct your assumptions. (ex. when you are driving and then realize you don’t know where you are so you have to go back and think about where you went wrong and redirect yourself back there)

Question 9

Explain the reasoning by analogy technique.

Answer 9

This is comparing two situations and applying the solutions to another problem. You are linking knowledge of known info to new info to make inferences about it. (ex. linking the heart to a water pump, linking the atom to the bee and cathedral for size reference, linking how animals grow and evolve to evolution).

Question 10

How were the tumour and general stories used to help people answer the original tumour problem?

Answer 10

People were given a situation about a tumour that they needed to find a solution for and some people were then given the story about the general.

75% of people who were told that the general story has a hint to link and solve the tumour problem were able to find a solution. 30% of people did not tell there was a hint in the general story noticed the created analogy and solved the tumour problem. Only 10% of people were able to solve the tumour problem without reading the available story>

This shows us that when creating an analogy to something like treating tumours that are not in our domain of knowledge but linking it to something that we can understand like the general store, we can make more connections between the two to solve problems.

Question 11

how do cross and within-domain analogies differ?

Answer 11

Cross-domain - are things that are not within the same realm of information but obviously link together (flock and goose with constellations and stars) (High abstractness = least similar)

Within-domain - are things that like together because they are in the same domain (bracelet and wrist with ring and finger) (low abstractness = most similar)

Question 12

Define introspection

Answer 12

It is the detailed, concurrent, and nonjudgemental observation of the contents of your consciousness as you work on a problem.

Question 13

Explain the block of the mental set.

Answer 13

A mental set is a tendency to adopt a certain framework, strategy, or procedure, to help see things in a certain way instead of in other equally plausible ways. This is analogous to perceptual set (tendency to perceive an object a certain way based on your experiences). Can often make people have unwarranted assumptions without being aware of making them.

Question 14

Define functional fixedness.

Answer 14

This is a cognitive bias that impacts an individual’s ability to create. This is when people don’t think to typically think outside of the function of an object, as that is outside its normal capacities.

Question 15

Explain the lack of problem-specific knowledge or expertise problem.

Answer 15

1. experts excel in their own domain, knowledge is domain-specific
2. experts are faster than novices at performing skills in their domain of expertise
3. experts see and represent problems in their domain at a deeper more principled level
4. experts spend proportionately more time qualitatively analyzing a problem, trying to understand it, whereas movies are more likely to spend more time trying to solve it.
5. experts are more likely to check for errors in their thinking

Question 16

Explain the block by finding creative solutions.

Answer 16

Creativity is a change in the frame of reference of the way you think about interpreting or organizing the material. This is usually something that occurs to you when your relaxing and not thinking about the specific things your trying to understand.

Question 17

Define unconscious processing/incubation

Answer 17

The idea is that while your mind is still actively doing many cognitive process, some other processing was happening in the background. the unconscious processing was able to turn away until the answer was found.

Question 18

Define directed remembering.

Answer 18

This is your ability to channel your memory in order to make conscious some past experience or knowledge that meets various constraints.

Question 19

Define contrary recognition.

Answer 19

The ability to recognize objects not for what they are but for something else is a creative process.

Question 20

Define deductive and inductive reasoning.

Answer 20

Deductive: goes from general to specific
Inductive: goes from specific to general

Question 21

Define deductive validity.

Answer 21

An argument is said to be valid if and only if it is possible for the premise (previous statement from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion) to be true and the conclusion to be false

Question 22

Define inductive strength.

Answer 22

An argument has strength if it is improbable for the premise to be true and the conclusions to be false.

Question 23

Define propositional reasoning.

Answer 23

This involves drawing conclusions from premises that are in the form of propositions (can be thought of as an assertion) They can be hooked together by using certain logical connectives which includes words like and.

Question 24

Define truth table.

Answer 24

Every possible combo of truth values of propositions is listed and connectives are used to fill up the overall truth and if it’s false it is then a contradiction.

Question 25

Define syllogistic reasoning.

Answer 25

This is when a problem presents two or more premises and asks the reasoner either to draw or conclusion or to evaluate a conclusion that the problem supplies to see if it is true. p.330

Question 26

Define inductive reasoning.

Answer 26

It is an inferential process that expands knowledge in the face of uncertainty and this is often correlated with categorization.

Question 27

Define confirmation bias.

Answer 27

This is where people would rather confirm that something is right rather than to test their rule.

Question 28

Explain the context effect.

Answer 28

If two people are reasoning with the same kind of premise, they will both have a different conclusion as it depends on what the premise is about.

Question 29

Explain the believability effect.

Answer 29

This explains that people are likely to judge as valid any conclusion that reinforces their initial assumptions, regardless of whether then conclusions follow their premise.

Question 30

Explain the rules approach for reasoning.

Answer 30

This is the idea that the rules of logic are the same rules we use to draw conclusions. This was study by researchers creating rules that we only know simplicity, and from this they can see the conclusions that are drawn from their mental logics and grammar. people will analyze based on their different schemata.

Question 31

Explain the mental models approach for reasoning.

Answer 31

This denies that reasoning consists of using special rules of inference and that it is more so involving special-purpose cognitive processes. We create a mental picture of the text in our head in order to comprehend it, and this is similar to when we take part in or observe a conversation.

Question 32

Explain the dual process model of reasoning.

Answer 32

Type 1- processes are more autonomous, and intuitive and do not require working memory. (thinking with your gut/heart)
Type 2 - processes that are more deliberate, and analytic and require working memory (thinking with your brain)