PSYB57 Final: Problem-solving
Problem solving
Cognitive process involving rrcognition of a problem, analyzing/solving it and verifying its efffecivelnecc.
Problem
Where therr are obstaclrs between an intial state and goal state that you don't know what to do right away.
Can be both bigh and small things. They all have the same mental processes for achieving that goal
Mental processes in problem solving
Recognizing there is a problem.
Understanding by taking into account all relevant ifnormation including bottoms up and top-down.
Find steps to solve problem.
Take those steps.
Reflrct on effectiveness.
2 asjectives
Cyclical: once a solution is arrived at, a new problem will be encountered and information from the past will be utilized.
Recursive: steps are repeated as much as necessary.
Common elements of problem solving
Initial stateL starting point, defining the problem.
Intermeediate states/path: all possible states between each step in problem solving. May even be involved in going the wrong direction.
Goal state: desired results
Problem space theory
Porblem solving is a search within problem space. You look for solutions through problem space. Operators are actions that transform current problem states into another one until you reach the solution.
2 types of problems
Well defined problems: correct answersm correct procedules, clearly defined states, great with algorithms.
Ill defined problems: ones that do not have a correct answer and can be solved in many ways. You may not even be clear that you solved it.
2 theories of problem solving
Behaviourist and destalt
Behaviouralism
concerned with observable behaviour resulting from input-output/stimulus-response pairs, trial and error
Cause and effect.
Reproductive processing: Uses knowledge from past experiences. Conscious and deliberate search through possible solutions.
Trial and error strategies: trying a number of different solutions and ruling out options that don’t work. Information is gained with each attempted trial. Can be used on subsequent problems
Does not explain insight and might be too ridgid
Law of effect
responses with satisfying effects will be more likely to occur again in the situation and responses that produce a bad effect will become less like to repeat in that situation.
Gestalt approach
problems are solved by considering them more deeply.
Productive process: thinking about a problem by manipulating information in our minds. Reconsidering, reframing, rethinking from different POVs. Restructuring: actively manipulating information to change its representation in your mind. Creates insight.
How people solve problems depends on how they understand it. Interested in all parts of problem solving and this processed is studied by studying barriers.
Insight
Relies on reorgination of mental representation. It is usrprising because people are unaware of how it occurs. People are always confidence in the revealed solution. They get inspired by cues but have no idea.
Herustics and when they are used.
rules of thumb, educated guesses, commonsense, shortcuts that guide judgements and evaluations, etc.
mental shortcuts for drawing inferences based on limited information without slow deliberation.
Used when there is too much information, little time, decision is unimportant, herustics happens to come to mind at the moment.
Error prone and less accurate trade-off
Working backwards
herustic when you begin solving a problem by focusin gon final result.
Good for planning
Means-end analysis
a heuristic where you begin by focusing on the goal state and choose subgoals as you move closer to the final goal.
You re-evaluate subgoals/decision at each step.
Flexible.
Used in AI
One barrier to problemsolving
Being unable to distinguish irrelevant information from relevant ones.
Functional fixedness
Tendency to percieve an item only in terms of its common use. Prohibits you from seeing its other potential.
FixationL tendency to focus on a specific characteritc of a problrm.
Herustic can prevent us from considering important information
Non-insight problems vs insight problems
They rely on different cognitive processes.
Non-insight problems: a problem distinguished by the process of consciously working through each step of it to arrive at a solution. People usually get a good idea of how far along they are.
Insight problems: solution occurs suddenly into your consciousness. there is a complete lack of conciousness. They come from cues but people are not even aware of the cues. People suck at predicting how close they are to the solution
Divergent thinking
a thought process that could generate many solutions to a problem to determine one that works well enough to solve the problem.
Not convergent thinking: leads to conventional solutions.
Creativity
being able to produce novel ideas that are appropriate/relevant to the situation.
Positive relationship between problem-solving and creatvity.
triarchic theory of human intelligence
Analytical intelligence: basic academic problem-solving skills. What standard IQ measure.
Practical intelligence: ability to understand and deal with everyday tasks.
Street smarts.
Creative intelligence: ability to use existing knowledge/skills to deal with novelty and create ideas appropriate given the current situation.
Ideational fluency
How creativity is measured. it is the number of ideas someone generates about a topic used to assess their creatvity.
Think ourside the box
comes fron the nine-dot problem
Mental sets
Herustic of the tendency to use solutions that have worked in the past/tendency to respond to something in a given or set way.
Makes people blind to other solutions.
Happens when they pay attention to similaries between past and present.
Information processing approach
People are processors of information.
Problem enters the system, draw related information from long-term to working memory to manipulate the information, related information helps you arrive at a solution.
Allows for comparison of humans with computers.
Algorithims
Sequences of operations/instructions for how to solve problems.
Like herustics in humans, but herustics are only educated guesses/intguitive judgements. Algorithims can work out many possible solutions and choose the best one quickly.
Comparison of humans with computers
Similarities: combine new incoming information with what is already stored in memory, both with central processor.
But humans can only take a few steps towards a goal at once while computers can process every possible move at once.
Goal of problem solving
to overcome parriers and find a solution that best solves the problem.
metacognition
What you know about what you know.
Past knowledge and current problems
People rely on past knowledges.experienc to solve current problems.
Could hinder ability by beling blind to alternative solutions.
Experts and problem-solving
They are not more intelligent than novices, they just have better organized and fieldspecific knowledge. this gives them an advantage.
However, they can older be hindered because they have mental sets, automated processes and lack creatvity.