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Questions and Answers
What characterizes a well-defined problem?
What characterizes a well-defined problem?
What is the primary function of an algorithm in problem solving?
What is the primary function of an algorithm in problem solving?
Which type of problem requires specific knowledge relevant to the solution?
Which type of problem requires specific knowledge relevant to the solution?
What does the means-end analysis strategy focus on?
What does the means-end analysis strategy focus on?
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Which heuristic is described as the first solution that comes to mind based on ease of recall?
Which heuristic is described as the first solution that comes to mind based on ease of recall?
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What type of similarity between problems tends to be misleading and focused on irrelevant details?
What type of similarity between problems tends to be misleading and focused on irrelevant details?
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Which strategy is characterized by a step-by-step approach to problem solving, but is less complex than the means-end analysis?
Which strategy is characterized by a step-by-step approach to problem solving, but is less complex than the means-end analysis?
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In the context of problem solving, what is the purpose of progress monitoring?
In the context of problem solving, what is the purpose of progress monitoring?
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What is the difference between insight and non-insight problem solving?
What is the difference between insight and non-insight problem solving?
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What does the representational change theory suggest as a way to overcome blocks in problem solving?
What does the representational change theory suggest as a way to overcome blocks in problem solving?
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How does expertise in problem solving enhance performance?
How does expertise in problem solving enhance performance?
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Which factors are NOT part of deliberate practice for enhancing problem solving?
Which factors are NOT part of deliberate practice for enhancing problem solving?
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What is functional fixedness in problem solving?
What is functional fixedness in problem solving?
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How can sleep facilitate insight in problem solving?
How can sleep facilitate insight in problem solving?
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In the context of problem solving, what role does implicit reasoning play for experts in fields like medicine?
In the context of problem solving, what role does implicit reasoning play for experts in fields like medicine?
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Which of the following does NOT improve problem-solving skills according to the concept of deliberate practice?
Which of the following does NOT improve problem-solving skills according to the concept of deliberate practice?
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Study Notes
Problem Solving
- Problem solving is goal directed and deliberate, only relevant if the solver lacks the relevant knowledge for an immediate answer.
- Well-defined problems have clearly defined goals and methods to achieve them.
- Ill-defined problems are underspecified with many variations of actions or strategies that may be attempted to resolve the problem. There's no clear indication of whether these actions will lead to the goal state.
Knowledge Based Problems
- Knowledge-rich problems require relevant specific knowledge to solve them.
- Knowledge-lean problems mainly rely on the information contained in the initial problem statement.
Problem Solving Strategies
- Algorithms: Step-by-step guidelines for task completion across the problem space. They ensure a solution and are ideal for well-defined problems. However, algorithms can be effort intensive, slow, and less preferred than heuristics due to the careful planning required.
- Heuristics: Rules of thumb or shortcuts for thinking based on previously successful solutions. They produce answers that are sometimes incorrect but are simple and fast.
Heuristic Techniques
- Means-end analysis: A heuristic based on creating subgoals to reduce the difference between the current state and the goal state.
- Hill-climbing: A step-by-step approach, less sophisticated than means-end analysis, useful when the problem is unclear.
- Progress monitoring: Monitoring the rate of progress towards the goal, if progress is too slow, a different strategy is employed.
- Availability heuristic: The first solution that comes to mind, based on the ease of retrieving, constructing, and associating relevant instances and operations.
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Analogies: Detecting similarities between the current problem and problems solved in the past. There's no guarantee that analogous solutions will work. They require recognition of the analogy's relevance. There are three types of similarities between problems:
- Superficial similarity: Commonalities in irrelevant details of the solution.
- Structural similarity: Casual relations between main components.
- Procedural similarity: Common actions for turning principles into concrete operations.
- Superficial similarities are easier to perceive but misleading. Asking participants to generate analogies rather than simply perceive them increases sensitivity to structural and procedural similarities.
- Analogical problem-solving doesn't always involve mapping between two different things or settings. It can involve mapping from a simple version of the same problem to a more complex one.
Insight and Problem Solving
- Insight: A sudden solution that pops into mind. It requires constructing different versions of the problem space, as the initial representation might be incorrect.
- Non-insight: Deliberate working memory processing.
- Hints and sleep facilitate insight. Sleep might be beneficial because it allows the solver to forget their initial wrong strategy and come back with a fresh perspective.
Representational Change Theory
- Insight involves conceptualization or re-conceptualization.
- Blocks occur when this conceptualization is done incorrectly.
- Solutions involve:
- Constraint relaxation: Relaxing assumptions about the problem.
- Re-encoding: Reframing the problem.
- Elaboration: Adding new information to the problem.
Expertise and Problem Solving
- Exposure to a variety of problem types and solutions allows experts to have pre-existing solutions stored in memory, leading to faster processing, planning ahead, and accessing relevant information more quickly.
Chess Expertise
- Experts store information in templates.
- There is no difference in general memory between experts and non-experts, but experts have increased memory for specific areas due to template-based storage.
- Experts perform well under time pressure and remember piece locations better if these locations map onto their templates.
Medical Expertise
- Experts utilize implicit reasoning which is faster and automatic.
- More efficient eye movements shift from attentional search to perceptual processes, reflecting the transition from explicit to implicit reasoning.
Deliberate Practice and Problem Solving
- Deliberate practice involves:
- Appropriate level of difficulty.
- Feedback on performance.
- Opportunities to repeat the task.
- Opportunities to correct errors.
- Sufficient practice leads to a shift from working memory to long-term memory.
- Factors like IQ, task type, and genetics influence the efficiency of practice.
Issues with Problem Solving
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Functional fixedness: Fixation on an object's usual function at the expense of realizing its potential in other ways to solve a problem.
- This can be reduced if the object is less associated with its typical function or if the key objects needed are highlighted.
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Description
Explore the concepts of problem solving, including the differences between well-defined and ill-defined problems, as well as the distinction between knowledge-rich and knowledge-lean problems. Delve into effective strategies like algorithms and heuristics, which guide the problem-solving process. This quiz provides insights into how to approach and resolve various types of problems.
