12. Problem Solving Flashcards

Question

who tends to have difficulty in backward moves in the Tower of Hanoui problem and why?

Answer 1

Patients with prefrontal damage often have difficulty in making backward moves in the Tower of Hanoi problem (Goel & Grafman, 1995) – They cannot maintain the goal in working memory very well

Answer 2

– Functional fixedness – Set effects – Incubation effects and insights

Answer 3

Successful problem solving depends on representing problems in such a way that appropriate operators can apply

Answer 4

– Cover the 62 remaining squares using 31 dominos. Each domino covers two adjacent squares – Or prove logically why such a covering is impossible • Each domino covers two adjacent squares --> one white square and one black square will be covered • If you use 31 dominos, 31 white squares and 31 black squares will be covered • However, in this mutilated checkerboard there are 30 30 white squares an 32 black squares

Answer 5

Inappropriate problem representation prevents us from using a proper analogy – Choice of examples tends to be guided by superficial similarities

Answer 6

The tendency to represent objects as serving conventional problem-solving functions and thus failing to see that they can serve novel functions • A problem becomes difficult when it requires representing an object’s novel function

Answer 7

The increased difficulty of problems due to functional fixedness demonstrates that how to represent a problem has a significant influence on operator selection

Answer 8

The biasing of a solution to a problem as a result of past experiences in solving that kind of problem • Often observed when the knowledge relevant to a particular type of problem solution is strengthened

Answer 9

– For problems 1-5, the formula B - 2C - A provides the simplest solution – Problems 6-10 are either solvable by a simpler formula (e.g., A - C for problems 6 and 9) or unsolvable by B - 2C - A (problem 8) – When participants were given the whole set of 10 problems, they tended to keep using B - 2C - A for all problems – As a result, 64% of them failed to solve problem 8 – On the other hand, when another group of participants were given only problems 6-10, they didn’t show any bias toward B - 2C - A and had little difficulty with problem 8

Answer 10

``` Sometimes set effects can be dissipated easily • In Luchins’s (1942) study, just telling participants “Don’t be blind” after problem 5 allowed more than 50% of them to overcome the bias ```

Answer 11

– The phenomenon that sometimes solutions to a particular problem come easier after a period of time in which one has ignored trying to solve the problem

Answer 12

– Occur when inappropriate strategies are forgotten

Answer 13

– You are given chains A-D – Opening a link: 2¢; closing it: 3¢ – Join all chains into a circle at a cost of 15¢ or less • Three groups of participants (they all worked on the problem for 30 min) – Control: continuous 30 min 55% – Group 1: interrupted by 30-min of other activities 64% – Group 2: interrupted by a 4-hour break 85% • After the break, participants initially tried to solve the problem in the same manner as before the break – Unlike a common brief that we are subconsciously solving a problem while we are away from it

Answer 14

– Fixation group: given an inappropriate way of thinking about the problem – Control group: no particular instruction – Findings: • The fixation group showed larger incubation effects • Participants who had a break more frequently forgot the inappropriate instruction

Answer 15

Incubation effects occur because people forget inappropriate ways of solving problems

Answer 16

– Problems in which people are not aware that they are close to a solution (Metcalfe & Wiebe, 1987) – Contrary to a common brief, the solution does not come in a single “aha!” moment – People often do not recognize what is critical for solving the (insight) problems until they see the final solution