aspects of problem sloving

>purposeful >involves cognitive processes >problems exists when an individual lacks the relevant knowledge to produce an immediate solution

well-defined problems

>all aspects specified >optimal strategy with one answer >e.g. maze, chess etc.

ill-defined problem

>under-specified goals >e.g. most everyday problems

knowledge-rich problems

only solved if an individual possesses specific knowledge

knowledge-lean problems

doesn't require specific knowledge

the Monty hall problem

>uniformity fallacy >assume options are equal but they aren't

law of effect

>Thorndike >trial-and-error learning >arbitrary relationships between behaviour and goal >focus on reproductive thinking

gestalt approach

focused on more complex, productive thinking using insight

insight

the sudden restructuring of a problem

evidence of insight

>Kohler- learning as a slow process, rather than insight >Birch- raised apes show little evidence of insightful problem solving >Maier- insight facilitated by experimenter interaction >Battersby et al.- highlighting relevant object improves solution time

the pendulum problem

participant required to use objects provided to tie 2 strings together using pendulum motion

Metcalfe and Wiebe

>solved insight and non-insight problems >warmth ratings increase suddenly for insight problems only

special-process insight

involves distinct cognitive processes

business-as-usual insight

uses the same cognitive processes as other problem solving

remote associates test

>Bowden et al. >compound remote associates problems used >found right anterior STG activated only with insight solutions

Ellis et al.'s eye movement trials

>eye tracking examined accumulation of partial knowledge leading up to a moment of insight >used 4 letter anagrams with 1 distractor letter

past experience (Duncker)

Functional fixedness- failing to solve problems because we assume any given object has a limited number of uses due to past experiences

past experience (Lunchins)

>manipulated past experience >emphasised notion of einstellung >use well-practiced strategy even when not optimal

representational change theory

>Ohlsson >gestalt-based theory >problem's mental representation serves as a memory probe for knowledge retrieval based on spreading activation

impasses in representational change theory

>occurs when problem representation doesn't permit retrieval >broken with elaboration, constraint relaxation, or re-encoding >insight occurs when broken >matchstick problem and mutilated draughtboard problem

elaboration

addition of new problem information

constraint relaxation

removed inhibitions on what is regarded as permissible

re-encoding

some aspect of the problem representation is reinterpreted

strengths of representational change theory

>recognises that changing problem representation enables solving >improves gestalt approach by specifying mechanisms >combines strengths of gestalt and information approaches

weaknesses of representational change theory

>not possible to predict when/how representation changes >multiple factors in making problems difficult so one insight may not be enough >hints in constraints relaxation have limited benefit >de-emphasises individual differences

incubation

>Wallas >problem often solved by leaving it for some time >subconscious continues to work towards solution

incubation evidence

>Sio and Ormerods's meta-analysis >small but sig. incubation effect >larger effects with long preparation time prior to incubation

sleep and incubation

>sleep aids memory consolidation and can alter memory representation >number reduction task by Wagner et al. >remote associate task by Sio et al.

sleep and forgetting

>Simon- control information relating to tried and tested strategies is forgotten and make it easier to adopt new approach >Vul and Pashler- remote associate task only shows incubation effect under interference conditions

computational approach

>Newel and Simon >general problems solver- computer programmer deisgned to solve numerous well-defined problems >assumes serial information-processing, limited STM capacity, and retrieval from LTM

problem space

includes initial state of the problem, goal state, and possible mental operators

heuristics

rules of thumb

algorithms

methods or procedures for solving a problem

means-end analysis

>note difference between current state and goal state >form sub-goal to reduce difference >select mental operator that permits attainment

progress monitoring heuristic

>MacGregor, Omerod, and Chronicle >people apply heuristic to determine if they should abandon a strategy >nine-dot problem

strengths of the general problem solver

>works well with several well-defined problems >see when individuals deviate from the ideal >explains use of heuristics

weaknesses of the general problem solver

>better than humans at remembering what happened to a problem, but inferior at planning future moves >most everyday problems are ill-defined >doesn't account for performance on insight problems well >ignores individual differences

neuropsychological data

>tower of hanoi- frontal patients slower to plan subsequent moves, and prefrontal patients worse despite same strategy controls >water jar problem- prefrontal founds it harder to make moves in conflict with given strategy, and left dlPFC patients performed worst due to problem inhibiting

neuroimaging data from Dagher et al.

more complex tasks associated with greater dlPFC activation

neuroimaging data from Fincham et al.

activated regions associated with working memory systems and attention

neuroimaging data from Unterrainer et al.

>right dl PFC activated for strategy planning and performance execution >behavioural performance correlated with activation in this region

far transfer

positive transfer to a dissimilar context

far transfer evidence

>Chen and Klahr- children who received training performed well on tests in new domains >task similarity important >involvement of accessing, mapping, and executing >effects of time interval >meta-cognition enhances far transfer

analogical problem solving

>knowledge provided directly through analogy when direct, relevant knowledge not possessed >depends on WM components and frontal executive processes inhibiting responding to distractors > +0.7 correlation with intelligence

superficial similarity type of analogical problem solving

solution-irrelevant details are common to both problems

structural similarity type of analogical problem solving

causal relations among main components shared by both problems

procedural similarity type of analogical problem solving

procedures for turning the solution principle into concrete operations are common to both problems

strengths of analogical problem solving

>types all important >nature of task and goals influence thinking >WM and inhibitory executive processes involved

weaknesses of analogical problem solving

>similarities in everyday life less obvious >structural similarities matches real life more >individual differences under-researched