PROBLEM SO V NG SOLVING

More Problems
You have 10 red socks and 20 brown socks in your drawer. If you reach into it in the dark, how many socks must you take out to be sure of having a pair that matches?

Problem Solving
What Wh t is i the th next t letter l tt in i the th following f ll i sequence? ?

OTTFFSS

Problem Solving
Initial State
Current situation Define the problem p

Goal State
Desired objective

Obstacles
Choices made about limitations Strategy choices Limited resources

Problem Solving
The process of overcoming obstacles to answer a question or to achieve a goal q g

Problem Representation
The importance of determining what information is relevant and what information is irrelevant is the p process of fp problem bl representation p t ti
People pay attention to the wrong information People need to focus on the right information

Sample Problem
A man wanted to enter an exclusive club but did not know the password that was required. He waited by the door and listened. A club member knocked on the door and d the h d doorman said, id " "twelve." l " Th The member b replied, li d " "six i " and was let in. A second member came to the door and the doorman said, "six." six. The member replied, "three" three and was let in. The man thought he had heard enough and walked up to the door. The doorman said ,"ten" and the man replied, li d "five." "fi " B But h he was not l let i in. What should have he said?

The Problem-Solving Cycle

1. Problem Identification
W We h have to recognize i that h we h have a goal l or that h the h solution we had in mind does not work

2. Problem definition and representation

We have to define and represent the problem well enough to understand how to solve it

The Problem-Solving Cycle

3. Strategy Formation
We have to plan a strategy for solving the problem which may involve
Analysis breaking down the whole of a complex problem into manageable elements Synthesis putting together various elements to arrange them into something useful g thinking gy you try y to generate g a diverse Divergent assortment of possible alternative solutions to a problem Convergent thinking you narrow down the multiple possibilities ibili i to converge on a single, i l b best answer

Strategy Formation
Analysis
Breaking into sub goals y for exam sub goals g Study
Read textbook & class notes Identify most relevant topics C Create study d questions i & answers on note cards d Learn all concepts on note cards Test self with note cards Recycle through learning and testing until mastery is achieved

Strategy Formation
Synthesis Organize O i to aid id solution l i Symbols Matrixes Diagrams
Let L = Lucy, S = Sean, 2L=3S, S=10
Mango Alex Jarod y Henry x x 0 Peach 0 x x Steak x 0 x

Strategy Formation
Divergent thinking
Generate multiple solutions to problem

Convergent thinking
Narrow Narro do down n to best ans answer er

The Problem-Solving Cycle

4. Organization of Information
You have to organize the available information in a way that enables you to implement the strategy You Y organize i the h i information f i strategically, i ll fi finding di a the h most suitable representation

5 Resource 5. R Allocation All i

We have limited resources (time, money, equipment, space,) ) We have to decide how much we want to invest into the problem solving

The Problem-Solving Cycle

6. Monitoring
It is necessary to monitor the process of solving the problem to make sure that we are getting closer to the goal We need to reassess what we are doing to be able to compensate for possible flaws

7 Evaluation 7.
You need to evaluate your solution after you have finished New problems p ob e s can ca be recognized, ecog ed, the t e problem p ob e may ay be redefined, new strategies may come to light, and new resources may become available

The Problem-Solving Cycle

Incubation
Putting the problem aside for a while Problem will be processed subconsciously The benefits of incubation can be enhanced in two ways:
Invest enough time in the problem initially Allow All sufficient ffi i t time tim for f r incubation i b ti t to permit p rmit the th reorganization of information

Types of Problems
Well-structured problems
Clear path to the solution
Math problems p Anagrams

Ill-structured Ill structured problems

Dimensions of problem are not specified or easy to i f infer
Finding an apartment Writing a book

Well-Structured Problems
Problems bl with h clear l paths h to their h solutions l Computer p simulations of well-defined p problems
Problem space
The universe of all p possible actions that can be applied pp to solving a problem

Algorithms g
Sequences of operations that may be used recursively (repeated over and over again)

Well-Structured Problems
Humans use heuristics
Informal, , intuitive, , speculative p strategies g that sometimes lead to an effective solution and sometimes do not If we store in long-term memory several simple heuristics that we can apply to a variety of problems, we can lessen the burden of our limitedcapacity working memory

Well-Structured Problems
Heuristics
1. Means-ends analysis y
Analyze the problem by viewing the end (the goal to be g ) and then try y to decrease the distance between the sought) current position in the problem space and the end goal in that space

2. Working forward
Start at the beginning and try to solve the problem from the start to the finish

Well-Structured Problems
Heuristics
3. Working g backward
The problem-solver starts at the end and tries to work backward from there

4. Generate and test

The problem problem-solver solver generates a list of alternative ways of action, not necessarily in a systematic way, and then notices in turn whether each course of action will work

Ill-Structured Problems
Th There is no clear, l readily d l available l bl path h to solution
ill-structured problems do not have well-defined problem spaces, and problem solvers have difficulty constructing appropriate mental representations for modeling these problems and their solutions

Ill-Structured Problems
Insight
a distinctive and sometimes seemingly sudden understanding of a problem or of a strategy that aids in solving the problem Often, an insight involves reconceptualizing a problem or a strategy for f its i solution l i in i a totally ll new way Insight can be involved in solving well-structured problems, but it is more often associated with ill-structured ill structured problems

Insight

Gestalt View of Insight g

Wertheimer
Sudden rearrangement of elements creates insight Productive P d ti thinking thi ki goes beyond b d previously i l learned l d associations

Kohler
Animal Model of Insight g

Obstacles

Obstacles to Problem Solving g

Mental set Functional fixedness Incorrect I or i incomplete l representation i of f the h problem Lack of domain knowledge

Obstacles

Mental Set
Seeing a problem in a particular way instead of other plausible ways due to experience or context
This usually causes you to adopt an ineffective strategy and can prevent problem solving Make assumptions without realizing it Difficult to approach the problem in a new way

Obstacles

Functional Fixedness
An inability y to assign g new functions and roles to elements of a problem
Two T o string problem Dunckers candle problem

Obstacles

Problem I
Two strings are suspended from the ceiling Goal: Tie the strings together Problem: Too far apart to hold one and reach for the other Materials:
Chair piece of paper pair of pliers

What is the Solution?

Obstacles

Problem II
Materials:
Box of thumb tacks Candle Matches

Objective: Obj i Mount M candle dl on wall ll to make k li light h What is the Solution?

Obstacles

T Transfer f
Negative g Transfer
Solving prior problem makes it more difficult to solve later problem

Positive Transfer
Solving earlier problem helps to solve later problem

Obstacles

Einstellung
Tendency to solve problems in a particular way when a different approach might have been more productive Problems 1-5: B-2C-A Problems 6-8: A-C Problem 8 cant be solved by B-2C-A 80% who see all 8 problems use B-2C-A 1% of controls use B-2C-A 64% fail to solve #8 vs. 5% of controls

Obstacles

Gick & Holyoak y (1980) ( )

Give participants one problem to read, with a solution Then give them a second problem, which can be solved using a similar solution

Obstacles

The Radiation Problem

Suppose you are a doctor faced with a patient who has a malignant tumor in his stomach. It is impossible to operate on the patient, but unless the tumor is destroyed the patient will die. There is a kind of ray that can be used to destroy the tumor. If the rays reach the tumor all at once with sufficiently high intensity, the tumor will be destroyed. Unfortunately, at this intensity the healthy tissue that the rays pass through will also be destroyed. At lower intensities the rays are harmless to the healthy tissue, but they will not affect the tumor either. What type of procedure might be used to destroy the tumor with rays without destroying the healthy tissue?

Obstacles

Gick & Holyoak (1980)

3g groups p of p participants p
Control group that only tried to solve the radiation problem A group previously given the analogous General/Fortress problem & solution A group given the General/Fortress problem and told th t its that it solution l ti would ld help h l in i solving l i the th radiation di ti problem

Obstacles

Gick & Holyoak (1980) Results

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0

Control

Analogy

Analogy & &Hint Hint

Obstacles

Factors Affecting Use of Analogies g

Similarity Number of examples exposed to
Gick and Holyoak y conducted a study y in which the dictator story y was just one of three other stories participants heard before radiation problem Only 20% got the problem correct

Whether schema for problem is activated

If the two p problems are separated p by y a delay y or if they y are presented in different contexts, almost none of the participants use the analogy