WEEK 12: Problem Solving Flashcards
What occurs when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal, and there is no immediate or obvious way to get around it?
A Problem
_________ _________ focused on how people represent a problem in their mind, specifically:
1. How people represent a problem in their mind, and
2. How solving a problem involves a reorganization or restructuring of this representation.
Gestalt Psychologists
Process of changing the problem’s representation.
Restructuring
Restructuring is associated with _________ - the sudden realization of a problem’s solution.
Insight
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
People’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of a problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution.
Fixation
OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING
A fixation that can work against solving a problem by focusing solely on familiar functions or uses of an object.
Functional Fixedness
An approach to problem solving that illustrates a means-end analysis and the importance of setting sub-goals. This approach can be applied to many real-life situations.
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
________ and _____ developed a logic theorist computer program that was designed to stimulate human problem solving.
Newell and Simon
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
Conditions at the beginning of the problem.
Initial State
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
The solution of the problem.
Goal State
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
Conditions made after each step is made toward solving a problem.
Intermediate State
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
Actions that take the problem from one state to another, and are usually governed by rules.
Operators
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
All possible states that could occur when solving a problem.
Problem Space
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
A way of solving a problem in which the goal is to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states.
Means-end Analysis
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
Small goals that help create intermediate states that are closer to the goal.
Subgoals
INFORMATION-PROCESSING APPROACH
These may appear to increase the distance to the goal state, but in the long run can result in the shortest path to the goal.
Subgoals
“How a problem is stated can affect its difficulty, and that solving a problem becomes easier when information is provided that helps point people toward the correct representation of the problem.”
What specific problem is this statement under?
Mutilated Checkerboard Problem
The process of noticing connections between similar problems and applying the solution for one problem to other problems is called…?
Analogy
Which problem - that when read - aids people in solving the Mutilated Checkerboard Problem?
The Russian Marriage Problem
What are the 3 steps of an Analogical Problem?
1. NOTICING
2. MAPPING
3. APPLYING
STEPS OF AN ANALOGICAL PROBLEM
The correspondence between the source story and the target problem. Participants must map corresponding parts of the story onto the test problem by connecting elements of the source problem to elements of the target problem.
MAPPING
STEPS OF AN ANALOGICAL PROBLEM
That there is an analogous relationship between the source and target problems, most participants during this step need some prompting before they form the connection between the source and target problems. The most difficult step.
NOTICING
STEPS OF AN ANALOGICAL PROBLEM
The mapping to generate a parallel solution to the target problem
APPLYING
The experiment in which participants are asked to say out loud what they’re thinking while solving a problem. Revealed a shift in how a person perceives elements of a problem.
Verbalization Kaplan and Simon’s Experiment
Kaplan and Simon’s experiment unearthed a particular protocol after observing how people perceive a problem by asking them to speak out loud.
The name of the protocol is..?
Think- Aloud Protocol
Process by which two problems are compared and similarities between them are determined. Promotes both recall and transfer. (Deep Level Processing)
Analogical Encoding
This type of problem solving is associated with divergent thinking, the way the mind generates ideas beyond prescribed expectations and role thinking.
Creative Problem Solving
Essential for generating ideas; however too much of this can inhibit creative design.
Knowledge
A way to increase creativity – generally less effective in a group setting as compared to generating ideas individually and combining them together.
Brainstorming
A technique known to successfully create innovative designs.
Creative Cognition Technique
