Week 10 - Problem solving, Reasoning, & Decision making

Question 1

What are the tasks that categorise key aspects of problem solving?

Answer 1

Problem space
Problem state
Operators
Goal state
Problem solving

Question 2

What is problem space?

Answer 2

Consists of various states of the problem. Contains start state, goal state, and all in between.

Question 3

What is problem state?

Answer 3

Representation of the problem in some degree of solution. The steps in between, when problem solving.

Question 4

What are operators?

Answer 4

Actions that will transform the problem states into another.

Question 5

What is goal state?

Answer 5

The end goal of a problem

Question 6

What determines the operators available to the problem solver?

Answer 6

This defines the problem space

Question 7

How does the problem solver select a particular operator?

Answer 7

This determines the path the problem solver will take.

Question 8

What are the 3 ways to acquire new operators?

Answer 8

Discovery
Direct instruction
Analogy/ imitation (similarities to other problems you’ve encountered)

Question 9

What are the 3 criteria for selecting operators?

Answer 9

1. backup avoidance = we avoid operators that will bring problem state back.
2. difference reduction = tendency to select operators that eliminate a difference between current state and goal state.
3. means-ends analysis = looking at bigger picture. Creates sub-goal to enable end goal. E.g. tower of hanoi problem.

Question 10

What is a set effect in problem solving?

Answer 10

Biased towards solutions that used to work. E.g. “set” in our ways.

Question 11

What is the incubation effect in problem solving?

Answer 11

Sometimes solutions to problem become easier after a period of time in which one has ignored trying to solve the problem.

SO TAKE A BREAK

Question 12

What are the 4 areas where human irrationality is found.

Answer 12

1. Reasoning about conditionals.
2. Reasoning about quantifiers
3. Reasoning about probabilities
4. Decision making

Question 13

What is “reasoning about conditional”? What task is this referring to?

Answer 13

If A occurs, then B must be true. However when you have an A and B statement, you cannot flip it to make the rule true.

This is referring to the Wason selection task.

Question 14

What is reasoning about probabilities?

Answer 14

Judgements of probabilities/ frequencies are often biased. I.e. estimate proportion of words that begin with K, and also have K in the third position. We assume more words begin with K.

Question 15

What is subjective utility?

Answer 15

Subjective value someone places on something.