Problem Solving

Question 1

Representational change theory

Answer 1

changing the representation of a problem does give rise to the insight of a problem

Question 2

Which methods does the representational Change theory use in order to get to an insight?

Answer 2

Step one: Constraint relaxation

Step two : Re- encoding
reinterpreting aspects of the problem relaxation

Elaboration :
New aspects are added to the problem representation

Question 3

Difference of Gestalt to Representational Change theory

Answer 3

• the problem representation which is developed during the search process does serve as a tool to retrieve more knowledge from the spreading longterm memory .
• impasses occur when there is no possible actions that can be found

less activation of the left prefrontal cortex reduces the inhibition of the constraint relaxation.

high activity in the right prefrontal cortex–> faster progress in insight finding.

Question 4

Limitations to the representational change theory

Answer 4

• no possible prediction of the outcome / the change
• the theory is based on a single factor ( constraint relaxation)
• constraint relaxation is not the solution to insight problems, it just enhances the likelyhood to find a solution.

Question 5

functional fixedness

Answer 5

• the inflexibility in seeing another mental representation to a problem.
• the current mental representation is influenced by past experiences.

Gestaltists argument:
- this can help to find a solution more easily but is also often misleading and makes us fixed on a wrong representation.

Question 6

problem space

Answer 6

–> problem solving strategy

defining a current space a goal space and spaces in between.

• abstract representation of the states that may occur within a problem that needs to be solved.

Question 7

Mental set

Answer 7

• tendency to make use of a familiar problem solving strategy even that has worked out in the past but might not be sufficient in the current situation.

Question 8

Heuristics

Answer 8

• mental short cuts that provide fast and cognitively undemanding answers to current problems.

–> those answer are approximately accurate

• often fail to answer the question fully correct.

Question 9

Means end analysis

Answer 9

• a problem solving heuristic strategy.

definining the goal state and the current state and defining subgoals

Question 10

Hill climbing

Answer 10

• heurisitic which approaches a goal state without prior defining the goal state just starting to do something in one direction.
• disadvantage is that this heuristic can only tackle short term goals.

Question 11

Progress Monitoring

Answer 11

• heuristic which monitors the progress in a given time and adapts the strategy if needed.

Question 12

The Doll Problem

Answer 12

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Question 13

Planning

Answer 13

• planning plays a crucial role in problem solving.
• the prefrontal cortex is the one mostly used for planning.
• damage to the left prefrontal cortex is more severe than damage to the right prefrontal cortex.

Question 14

Cognitive miserliness

Answer 14

strategy to use as little time and effort as possible in order to perform a task.

–> due to our limited processing capacity

• we use heuristics because of our limited processing capacity.

Question 15

Analogies

Answer 15

• a heuristic which uses similar past experiences to
  in order to solve a present problem.
• superficial similarities lead often to mistakes when applied to current situations
• structural similarities are more likely to solve the present problem correctly.

Question 16

Analogical retrieval steps

Answer 16

analogical retrieval:
unconsciously retrieving an anology from LTM that matches the present problem.

mapping:
- putting the retrieved analogy into context

analogical inference:
transferring the problem solving strategy from the past analogy to the current problem.

schema induction:
creating a new problem schema on basis of the comparison between the analogy and current problem.

Question 17

Which brain regions are required for analogical problem solving.

Answer 17

• complex cognitive process
• prefrontal cortex is mainly involved in the execution of analogical processing.
• difference between associative analogies and categorical analogies
• associative analogies are more direct and less abstract
• categorical analogies are more abstract and more complex
• prefrontal cortex needs to do a lot of inhibitory work.

–> analogical problem solving needs the central executive. ( very limited capacity)

Question 18

Analogical reasoning

Answer 18

• has a 0,7 correlation with intelligence
• higher level cognitive processes are related to intelligence

as well as working memory functioning

Question 19

Creativity defined in East and West

Answer 19

East:

• an enlightenment a discovery of something that way invisible before.
• eastern creativity is consciousness based.
• not only active creation but also receptive openness to new information.

West:

• intellect based
• creation out of nothingness
• creator= hero
• breakthrough in the knowledge domain.