Problem Solving

Question 1

What is problem space?

Answer 1

consists of various states of the problem (the space from the start state to the goal state)

Question 2

What is a problem state?

Answer 2

a representation of the problem in some degree of the solution

Question 3

What is an operater?

Answer 3

an action that will transform the problem state into another problem state (operators = the arrows between states)

Question 4

What is problem solving?

Answer 4

searching a sequence of states in a problem space that goes from the start state to the goal state

Question 5

What are the 3 ways that we acquire new operators?

Answer 5

discovery
direct instruction
analogy/imitation

Question 6

How do we acquire operators through analogy and imitation?

Answer 6

learn by being or taught or by watching others performing a task

Question 7

What are the three criterias for selecting operators?

Answer 7

1. backup avoidance
2. tension reduction
3. means-ends analysis

Question 8

What is backup avoidance?

Answer 8

the tendancy to avoid operators that take one back to a state already visited

Question 9

What is difference tension?

Answer 9

the tendancy to select operators that eliminate a difference between the current state and the goal state
- It only considers whether the next step is an improvement and not whether the larger plan will work

Question 10

What is means-ends analysis?

Answer 10

• Creates a new subgoal to enable an operator to apply
• An operator is not abandoned even if it cannot be applied immediately
• Identifies the biggest difference between the current state and the goal state and try to eliminate it first

Question 11

What selection criteria for operators tend to be used for the tower of hanoi?

Answer 11

1. difference reduction but it doesn’t allow you to solve tower
2. then start using mean-ends analysis

Question 12

How do set effects impact our problem-solving ability?

Answer 12

The biasing of a solution to a problem as a result of past experiences in solving that kind of problem

Question 13

How do incubation effects impact our problem-solving ability?

Answer 13

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
- Incubation effects occur because people forget inappropriate ways of solving problems