- an obstacle between present state and a goal - not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle - solution not immediately obvious

- sudden realization of a problem's solution - discovering a crucial element - Aha experience

Chapter Twelve - Problem-Solving and Reasoning Flashcards by Jenna Chin

What is a problem?

an obstacle between present state and a goal
not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle
solution not immediately obvious

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What was problem solving like for Gestalt psychologists?

-representing a problem in the mind

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What is restructuring?

reorganization or restructuring the problem’s representation
EX: Kohler’s “circle” problem

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What did Gestalt psychologists relate restructuring with?

insight

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What is insight?

sudden realization of a problem’s solution
discovering a crucial element
Aha experience

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What was Metcalfe + Wiebe’s experiment?

-designed an experiment to distinguish between insight + non insight problems

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Example of insight vs noninsight problem

insight: triangle problem, chain problem
noninsight: algebra

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What is the hypothesis to the Metcalfe and Wiebe experiment?

in insight problems S should not be very good at predicting how near they are to a solution
in non insight problems, S should know how close they are to a solution

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What were the results to the Metcalfe and Wiebe study?

insight problems solved suddenly

- noninsight problems solved gradually

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According to Gestalt psychologists, what is one of the major obstacles to problem solving?

fixation

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What is fixation

tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps peole from arriving at a solution

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What is functional fixedness?

restricting use of an object to its familiar functions

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What are examples showing functional fixedness?

two-string problem

- candle problem

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What is a mental set?

-preconceived notion about how to approach a problem
-based on person’s past experiences with the problem (or similar problems)
EX: water-jug problem

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How did the given mental set affect the water jug problem

given mental set inhibited participants from using simpler solution

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Who were Newell and Simon?

logic theorists

- described problem solving as a process that involves search

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How did Newell and Simon view problem solving?

(Information-Processing Approach)

as a search that occurs between the posing of the problem and its solution

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What are 2 types of problem space?

initial state: conditions at the beginning of the problem

goal state: solution of the problem

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What are operators?

rules specify which moves are allowed and which are not

EX: Tower of Hanoi

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What is means-end analysis?

reduce differences between initial and goal states

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What are subgoals?

create intermediate states closer to goal

What is one of the main contributions of Newell and Simon’s approach?

provided a way to specify the possible pathways from the initial to goal states

What else can affect problem solving besides specifying the problem state?

how a problem is stated can affect its difficulty

EX: mutilated checkerobard

What is think-aloud protocol?

say aloud what one is thinking when solving a problem

- instructed not to describe what you are doing, but verbalize new thoughts

What is the result of think-aloud protocol?

- shift in how one perceives elements of a problem | - similar to idea of reconstruction

How can analogies be used to solve a problem?

using a solution to a similar problem guides solution to a new problem

What is analogical problem solving?

using a solution to a similar problem guides solution to a new problem

What is analogical transfer?

- the transfer from one problem to another | - source problem to target problem

What is the target problem?

problem that S is trying to solve

What is the source problem

another problem that shares some similarities with target problem

What are Gick and Holyoak's 3 steps to using analogies in problem solving?

1. noticing an analogous relationship (crucial most difficult) 2. mapping correspondence between source and target 3. applying mapping

What is one reason that noticing the analogous relationship is difficult?

people often focus on surface features

What is the relationship between the Radiation problem and the lightbulb problem?

- 81% of S that knew about the radiation problem solved the lightbult problem - 10% of S in control group were able to solve problem - surface similarity helped in solving the problem

What does the lightbulb problem demonstrate?

high surface similarities aid in analogical problem solving

what are surface features?

specific elements of a given problem

How do structural features play into problem solving?

-underlying principal that governs the solution | EX: strong ray destroys tissue, strong laser breaks lightbulb

What is analogical encoding?

- process by which two problems are compared | - similarities between them are determined

What is a benefit of analogical encoding?

-effective way to get participants to pay attention to structural features that aid problem-solving

What is a method of analogical encoding?

having people compare source stories may force S to focus on strutural features

what is the analogical paradox?

-can be difficult to apply analogies in lab, but people use them in real-world

What is in vivo problem solving research?

-people are observed to determined how tyey solve problems in the real world

advantages + disadvantages of in vivo problem solving research

advantage: naturalistic setting disadvantage: time consuming, cannot isolate + control variables

What is an expert?

-a person who is extremely knowledgeable/skilled in a certain field due to devoting a large amount of time to learning/applying that learning

What did Chase and Simon learn about experts?

-experts were better able to reproduce the positions of chess pieces when arranged in actual game positions

What did Chi research?

presented 24 physics problems to a group of experts + novices

What were the results of Chi's physics experiment?

- novices sorted problems based on surface features | - experts sorted problems based on structural features

Are experts better at problems than novices outside of their field?

Are experts more or less likely to be open to new ways of looking at problems

- less likely | - disadvantaged at flexible thinking

What is creativity?

1. innovative thinking 2. novel ideas 3. new connections between existing ideas 4. divergent thinking: open-ended; large number of potential solutions

What is problem solving as a creative process?

- most creative problem solving includes far more than just getting an idea - lengthy period of trial and error

4 stages of creative problem solving

1. problem generation: finding, fact finding 2. problem formulation: definition, finding 3. problem solving: evaluation, planning 4. solution implementation: selling idea, taking action

How might too much knowledge hinder creative problem solving?

-oftentimes problems require thinking flexibility + rejecting accepted procedures