Flashcards
Problem Solving
Cards in this deck (31)
- 1What is means-end analysis?A technique to solve problems, considering your current state compared to where you want to be
- 2What is a well defined problem and an ill defined problem?Well = a problem with a clear end-point
Ill = a problem with a less clear end-point - 3What is Thorndike's approach to problem solving?- Keep doing satisfying things and stop doing dissatisfying things
- Trial and error approach
- Keep doing random things until something works = problem solved - 4What is Pinker's approach to problem solving?- Use mental imagery
- 'Mentalese' = visualise the world - 5What is the mental rotation task?- Shephard-Melzer
- Shown two shaped at different angles and asked if they match
- Ps have to imagine what they'd look like at different angles
- Mental rotation (example of mentalese) - 6What is Gelstalt psychologists view of problem solving?- We use productive and reproductive thinking
- Productive = coming up with anew idea to solve the problem (insight)
- Reproductive = analyse the problem and apply existing knowledge
- Break down problems into smaller parts that you know how to do = problem solved - 7What is a breadth first search and a depth first search?Both are ways of navigating through an algorithm 'tree' to solve problems
Breadth first = navigates the problem solving 'tree' by looking at each neighbouring branches solution before moving down to the next level
Depth first = exploring as far as possible down the branches before backtracking to other side nodes - 8What is the general problem solver?An information processing approach to solving problems - it is a computer programme (Newell and Simon 1972)
Can only solve well-defined problems - 9What heuristics do Newell and Simon say help with problem solving?- Using means-end analysis
- Depth-first approach
- Backup avoidance = don't go back to square 1
- Anti-looping = don't keep making the same move - 10What is an experimental example of when people use means-end analysis and sub-goal creation?Egan and Greeno 1974 - 5 and 6 disc Tower of Hanoi = experimental group got practice with 3 and 4 discs and had better memory for top-level goals
- 11What is an example of when people use a state action tree approach to problem solving?Cannibals and Missionaries
- Ps made a series of quick moves then paused before next sequence
- Paused and took longer for next move and produced more errors at certain points when completing each sub-goal
- These pause/error points occurred when the solution to the problem moved away from the goal state - 12What is Simon and Reed's 1976 approach to problem solving?3 distinct strategies used in a version with 5 cannibals and missionaries
1. Balancing = maintaining equal numbers of Cs and Ms on each bank
2. Means-end = moving people to the goal side of the river
3. Anti-looping = not carrying out moves that reversed the ones they just did - 13How do Gestalt psychologists explain the 9 dot problem?- People assume the edges of the square are the boundaries of the problem
- Ps misrepresent the operators of the problem - 14What is progress monitoring theory?A computer model based on 2 heuristics
1. Maximisation heuristic: we aim at a sub-goal
2. Progress monitoring: if an operator is successful at getting to the goal we repeat that operator, if it fails we are stuck (criterion failure)
- Criterion failure is important because it signals when ps decide to change strategy - 15What are the strengths of the general problem solver?- Created a normative base-line model
- Provides a solid foundation for research
- Explains puzzle-solving reasonably well
- Explains how we go from reasoning about new problems to applying earlier solutions
- Ties in with existing models of cognition e.g. memory - 16What are the limitations of the general problem solver?- Not much ecological validity
- Most real problems are not well defined
- Choice from which operators we should choose from is not well specified
- Heuristics are vague - people use lots of different ones and some may interfere with eachother
- Doesn't explain insight - 17What is isomorphism?Things that look the same
- 18What is Egan and Greeno's approach to prior knowledge in problem solving?- Experience is a key factor in problem solving
- Experts in a particular area seem to be able to solve problems much better than non-experts and merely experienced people
- Spotting similarities between problems is a key feature of expertise (problem solving by analogy) - 19What is analogy in problem solving?Comparison of the structure or relationship between the attributes of two different problems/situations
- 20What is an example of analogy in problem solving?The radiation problem
- Patient has tumour that radiation can destroy it but at high intensities can also destroy healthy tissue
- What angles should the radiation go in to the patient?
- Hint given - fortress problem (similar)
- 40% of students who had seen similar problem solved radiation problem
- 80% were successful if told that fortress problem is useful in solving this problem - 21How does analogy spotting help us solve problems?- LTM is big so which analogy is helpful?
- Strategies to help us pick:
- As people to compare the problem to similar ones
- Ask people to understand the problem - 22How do experts solve problems better by using analogies?- Accumulation of knowledge is necessary to make use of analogies
- Suggested that it takes 10 years to be an expert in a domain
- Knowledge seems to be organised so that is cross-references the structural similarity and allows it to be used differently e.g. applied to problems - 23How do DeGroot's chess players show how to solve problems?- Grand masters vs. experts
- Grand masters moves were faster than experts and were rated as better
- They didn't consider a greater number of moves than experts - breadth-first?
- They did not think more moves ahead either - look-ahead? - 24How does chunking help in problem solving?- Chase and Simon
- Better players tend to chunk pieces
- When asked to look at board and reproduce on another board grand masters produced tactically relevant groups of pieces - 25What is insight?Suddenly realising the solution to a problem
- 26What is functional fixedness?An inability to think of an object in a different way to its usual use
- 27What is Einstellung?An inability to think of a problem in a different way
- 28How does the pendulum problem show functional fixedness and interference?- Ps were asked to tie together 2 ends of string hanging from ceiling (with a pair of pliers on a table)
- Ps were found to solve the problem more readily if given a hint about the pliers
- Functional fixedness = pliers are not normally used to weigh things
- Interference from previous knowledge - 29How does insight in humans help us with problem solving?- Productive thinkers do better on problem-solving tasks
- Subtle cues help find solutions to problems
- Feelings of 'getting warmer' correlate with closeness to solving non-insight problems rather than insight problems
- Is this because insight is sudden by defintion? - 30How do Gestalt psychologists say that insight happens?Restructuring = the sudden production of a new adaptive response not arrived at by trial behaviour but by the sudden adaptive reorganisation of experience
- 31How does representational change theory say that insight happens?- Because of criterion failure (progress monitoring)
- When we think that we can't solve a problem but we actually can
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- Psychology Flashcards on Problem Solving, created by Holly Marshall on 20/05/2018.
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- Holly Marshall
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