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47 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Problem |
Occurs when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle |
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well-defined problems |
such as math or physics problem -usually have a correct answer -certain procedures, when applied correctly will lead to a solution |
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ill-defined problems |
such as dealing with relationships or picking a career -occur frequently in everyday life, do not necessarily have one "correct" answer, and the path to their solution is often unclear |
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What was problem solving about to Gestalt psychologists? |
1) How people represent a problem in their mind 2) how solving a problem involves a reorganization or restricting of this representation |
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restructuring |
the process of changing a problem's representation |
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insight |
the sudden realization of a problem's solution -Aha! experience |
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Fixation |
-one of the major obstacles to problem solving -people's tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving ata a solution |
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Functional fixedness |
restricting the use of an object to its familiar functions |
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Candle probelm |
Illustrates how functional fixedness can hinder problem solving |
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two-string problem |
Participants task was to tie together 2 strings that were hanging form the ceiling -strings were separated -chair & a pair of pliers were available -to solve the problem, participants needed to tie the pliers to one of the strings to create a pendulum, which could then be swung to within the person's reach |
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mental set |
a preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person's experience or what has worked in the past |
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water-jug problem |
task is to use the jugs to measure out the final quantity all problems can be solved using the same pattern of pourings as problem 1, but there are more efficient ways -mental set created by first problem inhibits people from using the simpler solution |
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initial state & goal state of a problem |
conditions at the beginning of the problem & the solution of the problem |
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Tower of Hanoi problem |
three discs stacked on the left peg and the goal state is to stack them all on the right peg
Must follow these rules: 1) discs are moved one at a time from one peg to another 2) A disc can be moved only when there are no discs on top of it 3) A larger disc can never be placed on top of a smaller disc |
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Operators |
actions that take the problem from one state to another (AKA the rules in the Tower of Hanoi problem) |
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intermediate state |
involving a sequence of choice of steps, with each step creating an intermediate state -thus, problem starts with an initial state, continues through a number of intermediate states, and finally reaches the goal state |
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problem space |
the initial state, the goal state, an all the possible intermediate states for a particular problem |
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means-end analysis |
the primary goal is to reduce the difference between the initial & goal states -achieved by creating subgoals |
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Subgoals |
intermediate states that are closer to the goal |
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acrobat problem |
At the beginning of their act, the medium acrobat was on the left, the large acrobat in the middle, and the small acrobat on the right. At the end of the act, they were arranged small, medium, and large from left to right. How did they manage to do this while obeying the safety rules? |
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reverse acrobat problem |
Same as the acrobat problem, except the rule was changed so that a smaller acrobat cannot stand on a larger one |
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Mutilated checkerboard problem |
Key to solving the problem is to realize that when a domino is placed on the board so it covers just two squares, it is always covering two squares that are different (pink & black for example) -there is no way to place a domino so it covers 2 pink squares or 2 black squares -However, this isn't the case because 2 pink squares were removed -Thus the board CAN NOT be covered by 31 dominos
4 different conditions -blank -color (pink & black checkered) -black & pink (just words no color) -bread & butter (just words) |
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think-aloud protocol |
participants are asked to say out loud what they are thinking while doing a problem -instructed not to describe what they are doing, but to verbalize new thoughts as they occur
-determines what information the person is attending to while solving a problem |
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the Russian marriage problem |
-Has parallels to the checkerboard problem 32 bachelors & 32 unmarried woman makes 32 marriages BUT 2 bachelors die Can there be 31 heterosexual marriages? |
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Analogy |
the process of noticing connections between similar problems & applying the solution for one problem to other problems AKA Applying the Russian marriage solution to the checkerboard problem |
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analogical problem solving |
using the solution to a similar problem to guide solution of a new problem |
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analogical transfer |
transferring the experience from solving one problem to solving another, similar problem |
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target problem |
the problem you are trying to solve |
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source problem/source story |
problem or story that shares some similarities with the target problem & that illustrates a way to solve the target problem |
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radiation problem |
impossible to operate on patient, but unless the tumor is destroyed the patient will die -there is a ray that is used to destroy the tumor -if the ray reaches the tumor at a sufficiently high intensity, the tumor will be destroyed -unfortunately at this intensity the healthy tissue that the ray passes through on the way to the tumor will also be destroyed -at lower intensities the ray is harmless to healthy tissue, but it will not affect the tumor either
SOLUTION: bombard the tumor with a number of low intensity rays from different directions which destroys the tumor with damaging the tissue the rays are passing through |
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What is one of the major findings of research on using analogies as an aid to problem solving? |
Even when exposed to analogous source problems, most people do not make the connection between the source problem & the target problem |
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The process of analogical problem solving? |
1) Noticing that there is an analogous relationship between the source story & the target problem 2) Mapping the correspondence between the source story & the target problem - connecting elements in one story to elements in the target problem 3) Applying the mapping to a generate a parallel solution to the target problem |
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surface features |
makes mapping difficult -specific elements that make up the problem, such as the rays & the tumor in the radiation problem
Since people focus on tumor, they don't feel it is similar to the fortress so they don't catch the analogy |
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how can you fix the surface features problem? |
Making the surface features more similar might help participants notice the relationship between the source story & the target story |
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structural features |
the underlying principle that governs the solution
ex. -Weak laser beams are used to avoid breaking the glass bulb (light bulb problem)
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analogical encoding |
in which participants compare two cases that illustrate a principle -when learners compare cases, they become more likely to see the underlying structure |
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analogical paradox |
Participant in psychological experiments tend to focus on surface features in analogy problems, whereas people in the real world frequently use deeper, more structural features |
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In vivo problem-solving research |
observing people to determine how they solve problems in real-world situations |
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experts |
people who, by devoting a large amount of time to learning about a field & practicing & applying that learning, have become acknowledged as being extremely knowledgeable or skilled in the particular field |
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What are some differences between how experts & novices solve problems? |
1) Experts possess more knowledge about their fields 2) Experts' knowledge is organized differently from novices 3) Experts Spend more time analyzing problems |
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How do experts & novices differ in organization? |
Novices organize problems in terms of surface features (what the objects looked like)
Experts organize problems in terms of structural features (deep structure, the underlying principles involved) |
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What is a disadvantage to being an expert? |
Knowing about the established facts & theories in a field may make experts less open to new ways of looking at problems - a problem when confronting a problem that requires flexible thinking |
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Divergent thinking |
Associated with creativity -thinking that is open-ended, involving a large number of potential "solutions" and no "correct" answer(although some proposals might work better than others) -most closely associated with ill-defined problems |
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Convergent thinking |
Thinking that works toward finding a solution to a specific problem that usually has a correct answer -thinking CONVERGES on the correct answer -most closely associated with well-defined problems |
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design fixation |
being fixated on a current medium or design -fixation can inhibit problem solving
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creative cognition |
creating preinventive forms- ideas that precede the creation of a finished creative product |
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Does large working memory capacity result in better problem solving? |
When pressure is low, high working memory is better because these people generally favor complex strategies for solving problems -high working memory participants "choke under pressure" |
