Chapter 12

Question 1

analogical encoding

Answer 1

technique in which people compare two problems that illustrate a principle. This technique is designed to help people discover similar structural features of cases or problems

Question 2

analogical paradox

Answer 2

people find it difficult to apply analogies in laboratory settings, but routinely use them in real world settings

Question 3

analogical problem solving

Answer 3

use of analogies as an aid to solving problems. Typically, a solution to one problem, the source problem, is presented that is analogous to the solution to another problem, the target problem

Question 4

analogical transfer

Answer 4

transferring experience in solving one problem to the solution of another, similar problem

Question 5

analogy

Answer 5

making a comparison in order to show a similarity between two different things

Question 6

candle problem

Answer 6

a problem, first described by Dunker, in which a person is given a number of objects and is given the task of mounting a candle on a wall so it can burn without dripping wax on the floor. This problem was used to study funtional fixedness

Question 7

creative cognition

Answer 7

technique developed by Finke to train people to think creatively

Question 8

divergent thinking

Answer 8

thinking that is open-ended, involving a large number of potential solutions

Question 9

expert

Answer 9

person who, by devoting a large amount of time to learning about a field and practicing and applying that learning, has become acknowledged as being extremely skilled or knowledgeable in that field

Question 10

fixation

Answer 10

in problem solving, people’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution

Question 11

functional fixedness

Answer 11

an effect that occurs when the ideas of a person has about an object’s function inhibit the person’s ability to use the object for a different function

Question 12

goal state

Answer 12

in problem solving, the condition that occurs when a problem has been solved

Question 13

group brainstorming

Answer 13

when people in a problem-solving group are encouraged to express whatever ideas come to mind, without censorship

Question 14

in vivo problem-solving research

Answer 14

observing people to determine how they solve problems in real-world situations. This technique has been used to study the use of analogy in a number of different settings, including laboratory meetings of a university research group and design brainstorming sessions in an industrial research and development department

Question 15

initial state

Answer 15

in problem solving, the conditions at the beginning of a problem

Question 16

insight

Answer 16

sudden realization of a problem’s solution

Question 17

intermediate states

Answer 17

in problem solving, the various conditions that exist along the pathways between the initial and goal states.

Question 18

Latent inhibition (LI)

Answer 18

mechanism that results in screening out irrelevant stimuli

Question 19

means?end analysis

Answer 19

a problem-solving strategy that seeks to reduce the difference between the initial and goal states. This is achieved by created subgoals, intermediate states that are closer to the goal

Question 20

mental set

Answer 20

preconceived notion about how to approach a problem based on a person’s experience or what has worked in the past

Question 21

mutilated checkerboard problem

Answer 21

a problem that has been used to study how the statement of a problem influences a person’s ability to reach a solution

Question 22

operators

Answer 22

in problem solving, permissible moves that can be made toward a problem’s solution

Question 23

preinventive forms

Answer 23

objects created in Finke’s “creative cognition” experiment that precede the creation of a finished creative product

Question 24

problem

Answer 24

situation in which there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal state and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle

Question 25

problem space

Answer 25

initial state, goal state, and all the possible intermediate states for a particular problem

Question 26

radiation problem

Answer 26

problem posed by Duncker that involves finding a way to destroy a tumor by radiation without damaging other organs in the body. This problem has been widely used to study the role of analogy in problem solving

Question 27

restructuring

Answer 27

probess of changing a problem's representation. According to the Gestalt psychologists, restructuring is the key mechanism of problem solving

Question 28

Savant syndrome

Answer 28

occurs in people with autism or other mental disorders who can achieve extraordinary feats of memory or may have great artistic talent or mathematical ability

Question 29

source problem

Answer 29

problem or story that is analogous to the target problem and which therefore provides information that can lead to a solution to the target problem

Question 30

structural features (problem solving)

Answer 30

underlying principle that governs the solution to a problem - for example, in the radiation problem, needing high intensity to fix something surrounded by material that could be damaged by high intensity

Question 31

subgoals

Answer 31

in the means?end analysis approach to problem solving, intermediate states that move the process of solution closer to the goal

Question 32

surface features

Answer 32

specific elements that make up a problem. For example, in the radiation problem, the rays and the tumor are surface features

Question 33

target problem

Answer 33

a problem to be solved. In analogical problem solving, solution of this problem can become easier when the problem-solver is exposed to an analogous source problem or story

Question 34

think-aloud protocol

Answer 34

a procedure in which subjects are asked to say out loud what they are thinking while doing a problem. This procedure is used to help determine people's thought processes as they are solving a problem

Question 35

tower of Hanoi problem

Answer 35

problem involving moving discs from one set of pegs to another. It has been used to illustrate the process involved in means?end analysis

Question 36

two-string problem

Answer 36

problem first described by Maier in which a person is given the task of attaching two strings together that are too far apart to be reached at the same time. This task was devised to illustrate the operation of functional fixedness

Question 37

water jug problem

Answer 37

a problem, first described by Luchins, that illustrates how mental set can influence the strategies that people use to solve a problem