Cognition Exam 3 Chapter 12

Front 1

negative set

Back 1

the tendency to solve
problems in one particular way, using a single specific approach, even when a different approach might be more productive

Front 2

insight

Back 2

a deep, useful understanding of
the nature of something, especially a
difficult problem
– An “Aha!” experience
– Often the result of overcoming a block (like
functional fixedness or negative set)

Front 3

analogy

Back 3

a relationship between two
similar situations, problems, or concepts
– Involves putting two situations into some kind
of alignment or relationship so that
similarities and differences can be seen

Front 4

Multi-constraint theory

Back 4

People are constrained by 3 factors when they try to use or develop analogies
1. problem similarity- must be a reasonable degree of similarity b/w understood situation and the current problem being solved
2. problem structure- must estab. a parallel structure b/w source and targeted problems so can map comparable elements
3. purpose of the analogy-
2.

Front 5

goal directedness

Back 5

overall behavior or activity is directed toward achieving a goal

Front 6

sequence of operations

Back 6

steps or sequence to solve the problem
Ex: long division

Front 7

cognitive operations

Back 7

Involving multiple, often different cognitive operations. Some of these have a behavioral counterpart (writing
down notes, keeping track of steps

Front 8

subgoal decomposition

Back 8

– because problem-solving involves a sequence,
– with multiple steps that are reached through cognitive
operations,
– the problem needs to be broken down into subgoals:
intermediate goals along the route to the eventual
solution of the problem

Front 9

gestalt

Back 9

– According to Gestalt psychologists problem-solving
involves a realization of what the configurations of the
problem and the solution are
– They would never dissect problem-solving into its
isolated elements

Front 10

problem space

Back 10

the initial, intermediate, and goal
states of the problem, including the problem solver’s knowledge at each step
– Might also include external devices used to solve the
problem (like pen and paper)
– Problem-solving could be considered a search of the problem space, or trips taken down the solution tree
– When lucky there is information available, either in the initial or intermediate steps, that allow a reduction of the problem space, pruning of the solution tree

Front 11

operators

Back 11

the set of legal operations or moves
that can be performed during problem solution
– To move from one node to the next in the problem space
– Often problems are specified to limit the possible operators
• boat can only carry 200 pounds
• We don’t have unlimited amounts of money for our summer
vacation planning

Front 12

well defined

Back 12

have an explicit and complete specification of the initial and goal states

Front 13

ill defined

Back 13

have states,operators, or both, that are only vaguely specified (Get an A! Be happy!)

Front 14

means-end analysis steps

Back 14

1. Compare current state with goal state
2. If there is a difference, set a goal to solve that difference
3. Select an operator that will reach the goal determined in step 2
4. If the operator can be applied, apply it. If it cannot be applied, set a new goal to reach a state where you can apply the operator
5. Return to step 1, now with the goal from step 4

Front 15

means-ends def

Back 15

the problem is solved by repeatedly determining the difference between the current state and the goal or subgoal state, then finding and applying an operator that reduces this difference

Front 16

problem solving

Back 16

slow and deliberate
cognitive processing when confronted with
a difficult, time-consuming task for which the solution is not immediately obvious and it’s uncertain what to do next