Problem Solving Flashcards
Gestalt Approach
Problem solving is about 1) how people represent a problem in their mind and 2) how solving a problem involves a reorganization or restructuring of this representation.
Metcalfe and Wiebe’s study
Warmth ratings: found that insight occurs suddenly, as measured by people’s reports of how close they feel they are to a solution.
Mental set
preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person’s experience or what has worked in the past.
Operators
Actions that take the problem from one state to another.
Problem Space
All possible states that could occur when solving a problem. Initial state, goal state, and all intermediate states for a problem.
Means-end analysis
A way of solving a problem in which the goal is to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states.
Subgoals
Intermediate states that are closer to the goal, reduce size of difference between initial and goal states.
Analogical Problem Solving steps
1) Noticing that there is an analogous relationship between the source problem and the target problem.
2) Mapping the correspondence between the source story and the target problem
3) Applying the mapping to generate a parallel solution to the target problem.
Surface features
specific elements of the problem (rays and soldiers, fortress and tumor).
Divergent thinking
thinking that is open-ended, involving a large number of potential “solutions”
Problem Solving process
- Problem Generation (Problem finding, fact finding)
- Problem Formulation (problem definition, idea finding)
- Problem Solving (evaluation and selection, planning)
- Solution implementation (selling idea, taking action)
Preinventive forms
Ideas that precede the creation of a finished creative project.
