Problem solving & creativity (CH 12) Flashcards
1
Q
What is a Problem?
A
-It is a situation in which you need to accomplish a goal & the solution is not immediately obvious
2
Q
What rules do Gestalt psychologists rely on?
A
- The laws of perceptual organization
- They also belive that adopting the correct problem representation is the key to problem solving
3
Q
What 2 factors did Gestalt psychologists focus on for problem-solving?
A
- They looked at how people represent a problem in the mind
- And how solving a problem involves a reorganization/ restructuring of this representation
4
Q
What are the central ideas for the Gestalt Approach?
A
-That success in solving a problem is influenced by how it is represented in the person’s mind
5
Q
What is Restructuring?
A
- It is the process of changing the problem’s representation
- It is also the outcome of the process Insight
6
Q
What is Insight?
A
-Any sudden comprehension, realization, or problem solution that involves a reorganization of a person’s mental representation of a stimulus/situation/event to yield an interpretation that wasn’t initially obvious
7
Q
What did Metcalfe & Weibe hypothesize in terms of their Insight experiment?
A
-They hypothesized that there should be a difference in how participants should feel when they are progressing toward a solution in insight problems vs non-insight problems
8
Q
What was Metcalfe & Weibe’s Insight experiment?
A
-They gave participants insight & non-insight problems & asked them to make “warmth judgements” based on if they thought they were close to solving the problem (warm/hot) vs not very close (cold)
9
Q
What were the 2 types of Insight problems given to participants?
A
- The Triangle problem= moving 3 dots from the triangle shape in order to make the triangle upside down
- The Link problem= a woman has 4 pieces of chain w/ 3 loops each & want to make them connect into a loop. She as 15 cents & opening a loop= 2 cents & closing a loop= 3 cents
10
Q
What were the non-insight problems that Metcalfe & Weibe gave to participants in their experiment?
A
-They gave them Analytically based problems= math problems taken from a high school math text that involve factoring, solving for a variable etc
11
Q
What were the results for particpants who did the Insight problems of Metfalfe & Wiebe’s experiment?
A
- That the warmth ratings began at 2 & didn’t change much until it suddenly jumped from 3 to 7 at the end
- SO 15 secs before they found the solution, paticipants did not feel that they were close to the answer
12
Q
What were the results for participants who did the non-insight problems of Metcalfe & Wiebe’s experiment?
A
-The ratings began at 3 & then gradually increased until the problem was solved
13
Q
What was the overall conclusion of Metcalfe & Wiebe’s insight experiment?
A
-That solutions for problems that are insight problems occur suddenly
14
Q
What is a major obstacle according to Gestalt psychologists?
A
-Fixation
15
Q
What is Fixation?
A
-It is people’s tendency to focus on specific characteristics of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution
16
Q
What is a type of Fixation?
A
-Functional Fixedness
17
Q
What is the Candle Problem?
A
- It is an example of functional fixedness
- Presented by Duncker
- It consists of being presented w/ candles, matches in a matchbox, and tacks & your mission is to mount the candle on a corkboard so that it doesn’t drip wax onto the floor when it burns
18
Q
What did Duncker conclude from his Candle Problem experiement?
A
-He concluded that participants had a more difficult time when the matches were presented INSIDE the matchbox VS participants who were presented with all the materials OUTSIDE
19
Q
What are the experiments that serve as examples for Functional Fixedness?
A
- The candle problem
- The 2 string problem
20
Q
What is the 2 String Problem?
A
- Presented by Maier
- Consisted of being a task where participants had to tie 2 strings together hanging from the ceiling what were far enough to NOT be reached with both arms
- Other objects that were availble to help accomplish this task= pliers & a chair
21
Q
What was the conclusion drawn from the 2 String problem?
A
- That 37 out of 60 participants could not solve the problem until Maier gave a hint that the strings could swing
- So 23 out of the 37 that couldn’t solve it solved the problem within the first 60 secs by using pliers as a weight for a pendulum
22
Q
What makes the Candle Problem and the 2 String Problem difficult?
A
-It is difficult bc of people’s preconceptions about the uses of objects= type of Mental set
23
Q
What is Mental Set?
A
- It is a preconcieved notion about how to approach a problem
- It is also determined by a person’s experience of what has worked in the past
24
Q
What was the Water Jug problem?
A
- Provided by Luchins (used to show mental set)
- It consisted of participants trying to figure out on paper how to obtain a required volume of water given 3 empty jars for measures
- Jug A has capacity of 21 Quarts, Jug B=127 Quarts & Jug C=3 quarts
- Participants were split into Mental set group=having problem 1 as an example & solving 2-8 using the equation & the Non-Mental Set group=just solving 7 & 8 w/o the equation
25
What as the equation that the participants in the Mental Set group used to solve the Water jug Problem?
-that the desired amount= B-A-2C
26
What did Luchins Conclude from his Water Jug problem experiment?
-Mental set can influence problem-solving bc of the preconceptions about the FUNCTIONS of the objects & the preconceptions of the WAY to solve a problem
27
What is the Information Processing Approach to problem-solving according to Newell & Simon?
-The belief between Newell & Simon that problem-solving is a search that occurs between the posing of the problem & its solution
28
How did Newell & Simon see problems?
-They saw them as an Initial State= condition at the beginning of the problem & a Goal State= the solution of the problem
29
What is the idea of Operators?
- Introduced by Newell & Simon
| - Operators are the actions that take the problem from one step to another
30
What is the Tower of Hanoi Problem?
- It shows an inital state of 3 stacked disks
- There are 3 rules that must be followed= Move one disk at a time from one peg to another, A disk can only move if there are no other disks on the peg, & Larger disks cannot be placed on top of smaller ones
31
What did Newell & Simon conclude about the Tower of Hanoi Problem?
-That the problem solving involved a sequence of choice of steps w/ each action creating an intermediate state
32
What is an Intermediate State?
-It is the conditions after each step is made toward solving a problem
33
What is Problem Space?
- All possible states that can occur when solving a problem
| - Includes Initial state, Goal state, & all of the intermediate states for a particular problem makeup
34
Since there can be a wide variety of solution to a given problem, how do we decide which moves to make? especially when starting out?
- Newell & Simon state that the person HAS to search the problem space to find a solution
- And that one way to direct the search is through the Means-end Analysis strategy
35
What is the Means-end Analysis Strategy?
- It is a strategy to search for problem space
| - It's goal is to reduce the difference between the Initial & Goal states which is achieved via Subgoals
36
What are Subgoals?
- They are intermediate states that are closer to the goal (steps)
- SOMETIMES it may appear to increase the distance to the goal state but in the long-run can actually be the shortest path
- It is also used in the Means-end Analysis Stategy
37
Why is the Tower of Hanoi Problem important?
-It illustrates Means-end analysis w/ its setting of subgoals which can applied to real-life
38
What did Newell & Simon contribute to their approach to problem solving?
- The ways provided to specify the possible pathways from the inital to goal states
- They also demonstrated how people solve some problems in a stepwise manner using subgoals
39
What is the Mutilated Checkerboard Problem?
- A checker board has 64 squares which can be completely covered with 32 dominoes bc each side of the domino covers 1 square
- 2 squares from opposite corners from the checker board are removed Is it possible to cover the remaining 62 squares w/ 31 dominos
40
What is the key to solving the Mutiliated Checkerboard Problem?
- It is understanding the principle that each domino covers 2 squares & that these squares must be different colors
- SO removing 2 square of the SAME color would make it impossible to solve the problem
41
What did Kaplan & Simon hypothesized about their experiment over their own versions of the Mutilated Checkerboard Problem?
-They hypothesized that certain versions of the mutilated checkerboard problem would make it easier for participants to solve & thus understand the key principle of how to solve it
42
What variations that Kaplan & Simon implement in their Mutiliated Checkerboard problem?
- They used 4 different checkerboards
- Blank, Color (alternating pink & black squares, The words bread & butter on it, and The words pink & black on it
43
What was the conclusion from Kaplan & Simon's variation of the Mutilated Checkerboard problem?
- The participants who were presented boards that emphasized the difference between adjoining squares found the problem easier to solve= Bread & Butter condition was the easiest bc they are different but associated
- The blank one was the hardest
- Both the checkered & the ones with the Pink & Black alternating fell in between the b&b and the blank one
- SO it shows that solving a problem becomes easier when the info is provided to help people come the to correct representation of a problem
44
What is the Think-Aloud Protocol?
- It was introduced by Simon
- Technique where participants had to say outloud what they were thinking while solving a problem
- Its goal is to determine what info the person is attending to while solving a problem
45
What does the Think-Aloud Protocol reveal?
-It reveals a shift in how a person percieves elements of a problem
46
What is Analogical Transfer?
-It is the processing of noticing connections between similar problems and applying the solution for one problem to other problems
(realizing the connection between the checkerboard & the russian arranged marriages & using the same solution)
47
What is an Analogy?
- A useful tactic for problem-solving
- Consists of asking yourself if the problem that you solved previously is similar to the new problem & how you can apply the same methods
48
What is Anagolical Problem Solving?
-Using the solution to a similar problem to guide solution of a new problem
49
What is Target Problem?
-The problem that the participant is trying to solve
50
What is Source Problem?
-It is another problem that shares some similarities w/ the target problem= illustrates a way to solve the target problem
51
What is duncker's Radiation Problem?
- A patient is going to die bc they have a tumor in their stomach that cannot be removed w/ operation
- BUT there is a ray that at high intensity will kill the tumor but also the healthy tissue or at low intensity that will have no effect on tumor & healthy tissue
52
What is the actual solution to duncker's Radiation Problem?
-The solution is to bombard the tumor via intersecting low intensity beams
53
Paired with the Radiation Problem, what was Gick & Holyak experiment?
- Along w/ trying to solve the problem for the tumor, participants read a story about a general trying to capture fortess that would blow up road if there were too many men on it at one time
- BUT the solution was the same for both problems
54
What did Gick & Holyak conclude from the pairing of the Radiation Problem w/ the Fortress problem?
- He saw that 30% were now able to solve the radiation problem compared to the 10% before
- BUT saw that 70% of participants still couldn't solve the radiation problem after they read about the fortress problem
- SO even when exposed to analogous source problems, not all people make the connection between source problem & target problem BUT some can if they think about it
55
What are the 3 steps of the process of Analogical Problem Solving that Gick & Holyak proposed?
- Noticing= that there is an analogous relationship between the source problem & target problem
- Mapping=the correspondence between the source problem & target problem
- Applying= the mapping to generate a parallel solution to the target problem
56
What is the Noticing step of the process of Analogical Problem Solving?
- It is noticing that there is an analogous relationship between the source problem & target problem
- It is also considered to be the most crucial & most difficult since people need to be nudged in the right way
57
What is the Mapping step of the process of Analogical Problem Solving?
- It is mapping the correspondence between the source problem & target problem
- Do so by connecting elements of source problem to elements of the target problem
- Also a difficult step
58
What is the Applying step of the process of Analogical Problem Solving?
- It is applying the mapping to generate a parallel solution to target problem
- Could involve generalizing aspects of both problems that match
59
What are the most difficult steps in the process of Analogical Problem Solving?
-Noticing & Mapping
60
How do we help people notice similarities?
-Through a training procedure= Analogical Encoding
61
What is Analogical Encoding?
-It is the process where 2 problems are compared & similarities between them are determined
62
What are the 2 negotiation strategies that Genter & Goldin-Meadow used in their analogical encoding experiment?
- Trade-off
| - Contingency
63
What is the Trade-off strategy?
-The i'll give you A if you give me B
64
What is the Contingency strategy?
-Where a person gets what they want if something else happens= getting a higher percentage of royalties if your sales are high
65
What is the experiment that Genter & Goldin-Meadow conducted of analogical encoding?
- First, participants had to be familar w/ both negotiating stategies
- Both groups were given 2 sample cases, one group was focused on reaching a successful negotiation for the Trade-off principle while the other group was focused on the Contingency principle
66
What did Genter & Goldin-Meadow's conclude in terms of the the most effective way to achieve Analogical Encoding?
-That having people compare source stories is an effective way to achieve analogical encoding bc it forces them to pay attention to problem features that enhance their ability to solve other problems
67
What is the Analogical Paradox?
-While it is difficult to apply analogies in laboratory research, people routinely use analogies in real-world settings
68
What is the In-Vivo Problem-Solving Research?
- Technique that Dunbar used to study the use of analogies in real-world settings
- This technique involves observing people to determine how they solve real-world situations
69
What is the advantage & disadvantage of the In-Vivo Problem-Solving technique?
- It captures thinking in a naturalistic setting
| - The disadvantage is that it is time consuming & difficult to isolate & control specific variables
70
What roles do analogies play in real-world situations?
-They play an important role in both solving scientific problems & in designing new products
71
What 2 factors can make problem solving easier?
- Practice= experts already having experience in solving certain problems
- Timing
72
What are Experts?
-People who devote hella time learning about a field, practicing & applying their knowledge, & becoming extremely skilled
73
What are the 3 factors that make experts better than novicies in the same task?
- Experts posess more knowledge about their field
- Their knowledge is organized differently than novices'
- And that experts spend more time analyzing problems
74
What is the Expert having more knowledge about the field result in?
- It results in faster correct placements in chess bc they stored all the moves in their long-term memory
- BUT they will have about the same knowledge as beginners IF the pieces are randomly placed on the board
75
What is the different organization of knowledge for experts factor?
- People who are experts will tend to categorize problems based on the underlying principles involved= leads to more effective problem solving
- vs novices' categorizing problems based on what the objects looked like
76
How do experts spend more time analyzing problems?
-It is usually a slow start to a problem to understand it= effective approach to problem solving
77
In what circumstances would experts turn into novices'?
-When the expert is taken out of their field of expertise bc that is the field where they have the most knowledge
78
What are the disadvantages that experts face?
- Since they know all the established facts, it is hard for them to be open to new ways of looking at problems
- They also have difficulty with problems that require flexible thinking where other procedures that aren't normally used are favored
79
What is Divergent Thinking?
- Thinking that is open-minded
| - It is also a cornerstone of creativity BUT NOT all that creativity can be
80
What 2 factors does a response need to have in order to be deemed creative?
- It must be original
| - and it must be useful
81
What is the definintion of Creativity?
-It is anything made by people that is in some way novel & has potential value/ utility
82
What do researchers think creative problem solving involve?
-It involves a process
83
What are the 4 stages of the creative problem solving process?
- Stage 1= Problem Generation
- Stage 2=Problem formulation
- Stage 3= Problem solving
- Stage 4=Solution Implemention
84
What are the 8 steps in the creative problem-solving process?
1. 1) problem solving
1. 2) Fact finding
2. 3) Problem identification
2. 4) Idea finding
3. 5) Evaluation & Selection
3. 6) Planning
4. 7) Selling idea
4. 8) Taking action
85
What leads to ideas?
- Having a base knowledge
| - BUT too much knowledge can hinder your way of thinking & flexibility
86
What was the purpose of Smith & Coworkers experiment?
-They wanted to demonstrate how having too much knowledge about a particular field is a bad thing when it comes to being creative
87
What were Smith & Coworkers experiment in terms of the hindrance of too much knowledge?
- They gave participants a task of inventing, labeling, etc new creative toys or life forms that may take place on the planet
- One group of participants were given 3 examples before they started working
88
What were the conclusions of Smith & Coworkers experiment?
- The group that received the examples implemented many features from the example into their own creation
- SO it is related to functional fixedness bc the example inferferred with generating ideas on their own
89
What is Group Brainstorming?
-It is a technique to encourage people to freely express their ideas that might be useful in solving a particular problem
(participants saying every idea that comes to mind without being critical)
90
Why would Group Brainstorming not be as effective as it seems?
- Bc people may hold back w/ the fear of being judged
- Some may dominate the conversation
- Others may be paying attention w/o generating ideas of their own
91
What is Creative Cognition?
- Exercise created by Finke
| - It is meant to help people think creatively & increase the creation of Individual ideas
92
What is Finke's technique of Creating an Object?
- It is where participants close their eyes & chose 3 random objects out of 15 objects on a piece of paper
- Their mission is to construct something, anything= let their mind go at it w/o thinking too much about it
- The inventions created= Preinventive Forms
93
What are Preinventive Forms?
- They are the objects that people made from the Creating an Object task by Fincke
- They are meant to be ideas that precede the creation of a finished product
94
What did Fincke conclude from his Creating an Object exercise?
- He found that people were more likely to come up with creative uses for their own preinventive object than for other objects
- It is also similiar to the fact that people remember material better when they generate it themselves
95
What is the 9-Dot Problem?
-It consists of drawing 4 straight lines that pass through all 9 dots of the problem
96
Why is the 9-Dot Problem hard to solve?
- It is due to our tendency of grouping individual elements together= gestalt principles of organization
- SO we don't think about the possibility of extending the lines out of the square
97
What did Chi & Synder want to test in terms of thinking outside the box?
-They wanted to see if turning off the left ATL will open up people's thinking about patterns like the 9 dot problem
98
What was Chi & Synder's experiement?
- They used Transcrannial Direct Current Stimulation (TDCS) while participants were solving at 9-dot problem
- They placed a Cathodal electrode (negatively charged) over the left ATL to DECREASE the neuron excitability
- And they placed a Anadol electrode (positively charged) over the right ATL to INCREASE neuron excitabilty
99
What was the conclusion that Chi & Synder drew from their TDCS experiment?
- They found that deactivating an area of the brain causes us to intrepret the world in certain ways= helps us think outside the box
- It is similar results to being told that you need to extend the lines out of the square in order to solve the 9-dot puzzle
100
What was the experiment by Kounios & coworkers in terms of the "prepared mind"
- It consisted of having participants fitted with electrodes which measured the Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- The EEG was measured for 2 secs followed by a compound remote-associate= hthis type can be both solved by insight or analytically
101
What is EEG?
-It measures the response recorded from thousands of neurons under the electrodes
102
What is the Compound Remote-Associate Problem in Kouinos experiment?
- It is when 3 words are presented & you have to put these 3 words together in order to make a sentence
- SO being presented w/ crab, pine, sauce can be made into Pineapple, crabapple, or applesauce
103
What were the conclusions from Kounios EEG experiment?
- Saw that EEG activity increased in the frontal lobe just before insight solutions & that EEG activity increased in the occipital lobe just before non-insight solutions
- SO the status of your brain before you begin a problem can influence the approach you take to solving the problem
104
When does the Default Mode Network (DMN) activity increase & decrease?
- It's activity DECREASES when the person is involved in a specific task
- It INCREASES when attention is not focused on task
- The activity of DMN is associated w/ mind wandering
105
What role does DMN play in creativity?
-It plays an important role in creative thinking & imagination
106
What is Incubation?
-It is the phenomenon of getting ideas after taking a "time-out" from working on a problem
107
What is the Alternative Uses Task (AUT)?
- It is the basline task used in Baird's experiment
| - AKA unusual uses task
108
What was Baird's experiment in terms of mind wandering & creativity?
- It consisted of the Alternative Uses Task which had participants take 2 mins to think about unsual uses for common objects
- Then it was followed by a 12 min incubation period that consisted of particicpants carrying out a difficult task (low mind wandering) or easy task (high mind wandering)
- Then participants did the AUT task again
109
What was Baird's conclusion about his mind wandering experiment?
- When participants did the easy task, they improved 40% when they did the AUT task again vs unchanged performance for the hard task
- SO mind wandering facillitates creative incubation
110
What is the connection between DMN activity and creativity?
-Higher originality ratings of a participant viewing an object are associated w/ higher activity structures in the DMN
111
What is the Executive Control Network (ECN)?
- It is involved in direct attention as a person is carrying out tasks
- It also plays a crucial role in creativity
112
What was Ellamil experiment in terms of ECN & creativity?
- She asked participants to GENERATE ideas for a book cover after reading a description about what the book was supposed to be about
- After a short break she asked them to shift their thinking into EVALUATING the designs they had generated
113
What was the conclusion drawn from Ellamil's ECN & creativity experiment?
- She found that regions of the DMN & ECN were more strongly activated during idea evaluation vs generation
- She also concluded that activity in the DMN & ECN was coordinated during creative evaluation
114
Why were the ECN & DMN networks thought to oppose eachother?
- Bc ECN is involved w/ regulating attention= its activity increases when people are involed w/ tasks that require attention which shuts down DMN
- And ECN activity decreases under conditions in which the DMN would be active
115
How do the ECN & DMN networks work together?
- Bc of the spontaneous nature of mind wandering creates a flow of thoughts & ideas
- And that creativity often requires a traffic cop= ECN comes in by guiding thinking in original directions
116
What kind of people have strong ECN & DMN connections?
-They're found in highly creative people
117
What are 3 factors that can help you become more creative?
- Daydreaming
- Solitude
- Mindfulness
118
How do we harness the power of Daydreaming in order to increase our creativity?
-By taking a break from your task by walking, taking a shower & letting your mind wander on purpose
119
What is Volitional Daydreaming?
-It is the act of choosing to disengage from external tasks in order to pursue an internal stream of thought that may bring positive outcomes
120
How does solitude help us become more creative?
- It can enhance daydreaming & analytical thinking
| - It is bc we are giving our mind the space it needs to reflect, make new connections, & find meanings
121
What is the ultimate key to creativity?
-It is the balance of focus on the self & focus on others
122
What is Mindfulness?
-It is the simple process of actively noticing new things & paying attention to the present moment
123
What type of meditation has been extremely effective?
-Focused Attention Meditation (FA)
124
What is Focused Attention Meditation?
- It is to focus on one thing (the in & out of your breath) & then your mind wanders to bring your attention back to your breath
- In result it quiets the mind & has health benefits & to alter the structure of the brain in positive way
125
What are the 2 types of effective meditation?
- Focused Attention Meditation
| - Open monitoring meditation
126
What are the downsides of Focus Attention Meditation?
-It decreases mindwandering but also decreases creativity which forms a paradox bc creativity is a good thing
127
What is Open Monitoring Meditation? (OM)
- It is paying attention to whatever comes to mind & following this thought until it turns into a different thought
- This type of meditation does not decrease mind wandering= brings in more original ideas than the FA meditation group
- It also causes greater activation of the DMN
128
What is the Imagination Network?
-The inferences to the default mode network made by Kaufman & Gregoire= the writers of unleashing creativity book
