Ch 11 Problem Solving Problem solving is what you use when you want to reach a specific goal however the solution is not immediately obvious because you are missing important information and or it is not clear how to reach the goal It requires you to go beyond the information you were given so you can reach a goal Components of problem solving Initial state describes the situation at the beginning of the problem Goal state when you solve the problem Obstacles the restrictions that make it difficult to proceed from the initial state to the Ex The Case You need to reach a classmate to complete a class project Initial state You can t reach your classmate because you don t have contact 1 2 3 goal state information Goal state You acquired contact information e g email phone number their contact information Obstacles Your classmate didn t go to class today and you obviously did not have Algorithm a problem solving method that will always produce a solution to a problem although the process can sometimes be inefficient It is like a type of program coding a process or set of rules to be followed Analogy approach In problem solving using a solution to a similar earlier problem to help in solving a new problem People tend to pay more attention to surface features or the superficial content of the problem than it s abstract underlying meaning They tend to fail to emphasize structural features or the underlying core that they must understand in order to solve the problem correctly Problem isomorphs refers a set of problems that have the same underlying structures and solutions but different specific details Ex A university wants a system for prospective students to to keep track of their analogy surface feature like other universities so looking at other universities applications tracking system analogy structural feature like federal express in needing tracking so look at how they tracked location of packages Exhaustive search an algorithm where you try out all possible answers using a specified system Heuristic a simple efficient rule learned or hard code that has been proposed to explain how people make decisions come to judgments and solve problems typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information In one s mind it s a general rule that s usually correct With this this technique some alternatives are ignored while only those that seem Ex solving anagrams voicesranton a1 lsstneuiamyoul a2 answers are at the especially likely are explored end of the section Mean ends analysis heuristic requires one to identify the ends or final result that you want and then figure out the means or methods that you will use to reach those ends It has two components 1 dividing the problem into a number of sub problems or smaller problems and 2 then you try to reduce the difference between en the initial state and the goal state for each of the sub problems It s one of the most effective and flexible problem solving strategies Insight problem the problem initially seems impossible to solve but then an alternative approach suddenly bursts into your consciousness it is assumed that the person working on an insight problem usually holds some incorrect assumptions when they begin to solve the problem Ex answer at the end of the section Creativity in terms of problem solving solutions are both novel and useful Divergent thinking a thought process or method used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions The number of solutions does not indicate novelty or usefulness Extrinsic motivation the motivation to work on a task not because you find it enjoyable but in order to earn a promised reward or to win a competition High extrinsic motivation is linked with low creativity but creativity can be enhanced if the extrinsic factors provide useful feedback Intrinsic motivation the motivation to work on a task for its own sake because you find it interesting exciting or personally challenging This tends to be the case when people are working on a task they truly enjoy Persistence motivation to keep working on a problem despite frustration Predicts learning after controlling for background knowledge Functional fixedness a cognitive bias that limits a person to using an object only in the way it is traditionally used Ex Using glass cups only for drinking when they can be also used for making music Answers to Problems anagram answers a1 conversation a2 simultaneously insight problem answer Ch 12 Decision Making Decision making the act of assessing and choosing among two or more alternatives Dual process theory distinguishes between two types of cognitive processing 1 Type 1 processing is fast and automatic requires little conscious attention Ex recognition of facial expressions automatic stereotyping Type 2 processing is relatively slow and controlled it requires focused attention 2 Ex when we think of exceptions to a general rule when we we realize we made stereotyped response Note Most people only use type 1 processing in decision making Heuristic a general strategy that works well But can have many fallacies Ex Assuming that in the if X then Y strategy that Y is always true when in fact is may not be Belief bias effect occurs in reasoning when people make judgments based on prior beliefs and general knowledge rater than on the rules of logic Ex Assuming you cannot be talked into going to a rave concert because you have never been pressured into going numerous times before Confirmation bias the tendency to interpret evidence as one s existing beliefs or theories One would rather try to confirm or support a hypothesis than try to disprove it Ex In the watson task If a card has a vowel on one side the it has an even number on the other side One side of four cards say EJ67 To test if this rule is true people generally turn over the E card only when turning over the 7 card is equally important Base rate fallacy when emphasizing representativeness paying too little attention to important information about base rate or how often the item occurs in the population Ex When ranking the probability that a person of particular character traits will enter a specific program of study at a university many people will ignore the base rate in this case programs with high enrollment rate and pay more attention to representativeness i e the character traits Conjunction fallacy a formal fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that the specific conditions are more probable than a single general one Judging the
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