Problem solving 1

Question 1

What is problem solving ?

Answer 1

Going from a problem to goal state

Question 2

3 steps of problem solving

Answer 2

1. Recognizing and representing problem
   - Focus on relevant information
2. Analyzing and solving it
   - Problem solving cycle
3. Assessing the solution’s effectiveness
   … and store it in an appropriate form

Question 3

Solving the monk problem : finding the spot along the path that the monk will occupy at the same time of day on both trips

Answer 3

• Difficult to solve with math
• More productive way is representing it visually

Question 4

problem-solving cycle

Answer 4

• Series of steps we enact to reach a solution
• We can go many times through these steps

Question 5

Steps of the problem solving cycle

Answer 5

1. Defining and representing the problem
2. Define strategies
3. Think of the best strategy
4. Implement the best strategy with a plan of action
5. Evaluate if what we did was an effective strategy that lead us to the wanted solution
6. If not effective, go back in steps : Recursion

Question 6

Recursive characteristic of the problem solving cycle

Answer 6

Repeat the cycle as many times as necessary to find a solution
* Ensures resolution

Question 7

Applicable and adaptable characteristic of the problem solving cycle

Answer 7

The output of the cycle should be a solution to a current problem and a version that can generalize to new scenarios

Question 8

Generalization of solution in memory

Answer 8

Storing specific solutions without detail to apply to new scenarios
* Memory for solutions should include ‘essence’ and not specifics : otherwise, won’t be easy to learn from it
* Important for adaptive behaviour

Question 9

Well defined problems

Answer 9

• Task constraints (clear steps) to reach a solution : applying existing rules, algorithms or scripts
• Defined goal state : clear what the decision path is to solve the problem
• Single, expected outcome

Question 10

Ill defined problems

Answer 10

• How to overcome problem / the goal is ambiguous : can be unclear what goal state you want, and ways to get to the goal
• Requires added information
• Situational
  -Use different processes than well defined problems : think of multiple decision paths

Question 11

Ambiguous situations (ill-defined problems)

Answer 11

• Have few limitations (rules) for how to solve the problem
• Multiple solutions or expected outcomes
• Social or self problem solving
  E.g. I need to figure out how to make new friends.

Question 12

Evidence that episodic memory assists in problem solving

Answer 12

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients with hippocampal damage and select episodic memory loss vs control
Task :
* Asked to describe solutions to social problems :e.g. how to have dinner party for people you don’t know
* Problem descriptions scored by the number of effective, relevant steps or non-effective, irrelevant steps
Results :
- Impairment in effective solutions for TLE patients
- Suggest episodic memory is essential for creating solutions to ill-defined problems

Question 13

There is greater activity in the … cortex (region for cognitive processes and tasks that require more cognitive load ) for ill-defined anagrams

Answer 13

right lateral prefrontal cortex

Question 14

Cognitive load

Answer 14

The amount of information that your working memory system can hold at one time

Question 15

Why do ill-defined problems carry a high cognitive load ?

Answer 15

Because they reduce working memory capacity :
- Ill-defined problems do not have schematic solutions to increase working memory capacity

Question 16

Moravec’s paradox

Answer 16

Artificial intelligence (AI) can solve well-defined problems well, but not ill-defined problems and simple skills because it works by algorithms that deal well with certainty, but not uncertainty
* “Everything that’s easy is hard, and everything that’s hard is easy”

Question 17

Represents an information processing approach to study problem solving via algorithms

Answer 17

Well-defined problems

Question 18

Problem space

Answer 18

Where we represent well-defined problems

Question 19

3 components of a problem space

Answer 19

1. Initial and goals states
2. Intermediate paths and operators
   - Operators : transformations from initial to solution state
3. Task constraints

Question 20

Solving the Tower of Hanoi

Answer 20

• Move 3 discs from peg A to C so they are in the same initial order
• Task constraints
• No disc can lie on top of a smaller one
• only one disc can be moved at a time (i.e., the top disc of a pile)
  The way you solve this requires you to move back and forth : using sub goals (intermediate states)

Question 21

The Tower of Hanoi problem is an example of a ______well/ill defined problem because it has _____ task constraints/no task constraints

Answer 21

Well-defined with task constraints

Question 22

Brute force way of navigating the problem space

Answer 22

For well-defined problems
* Systematic algorithm that represents all the possible steps from the problem to goal state
* Guaranteed to find a solution, but inefficient

Question 23

Combinatorial explosion

Answer 23

• computing too many alternatives
• Linked to decision fatigue
• Why it is usually best to avoid brute force

Question 24

Heuristics

Answer 24

Strategies to select moves in a problem space to avoid combinatorial explosion and decision fatigue

Question 25

Thinking aloud procedures

Answer 25

Used to measure complex thinking to understand strategies

Question 26

Concurrent verbalizations (thinking aloud procedures)

Answer 26

- Describe what you are doing as you do it (how you are solving a problem) - A bit better at explaining how people solve problems than retrospective verbalizations

Question 27

Retrospective verbalizations (thinking aloud procedures)

Answer 27

Describe what you did at an earlier time * Influenced by metacognitive processes, memory

Question 28

Trial and Error Heuristic

Answer 28

Considered “lower-level thinking” * Try out a number of solutions, rule out what doesn’t work * Good for limited outcome problems * What color of my shirt matches these pants? Not good for multi-outcome problems * Solving a Rubik Cube via trial and error doesn’t work

Question 29

Hill climbing strategy heuristic

Answer 29

Select the operation that brings you closer to the goal without examining the whole problem space * This strategy can lead to a false outcome, a ‘local maxima’ (subgoal) is mistaken as the final goal; not considering other paths : foothill problem * Does not always work because some problems require you to move away from the goal in order to solve it (e.g. tower of Hanoi)

Question 30

Solving the hobbits and orcs problem

Answer 30

Cannot be solved with a hill climbing strategy Instead : Move away from the goal to get there : move the hobbits and orcs back and forth many times : intermediate steps due to task constraints

Question 31

Means ends strategy

Answer 31

* What “means” do I have to make the current state look like the goal state? Determine the best strategy for fulfilling the goal given the current situation Recursion : * Identifying sub-problems to complete the goal * Includes forward and backward movements, constantly evaluating the difference between current and goal states

Question 32

Difference between hill climbing and means-end strategies

Answer 32

Means-end is a more flexible approach than hill-climbing - Means end strategy takes into account all potential steps, not just the next step like hill climbing strategy

Question 33

Rubik Cube solving

Answer 33

Requires to set up subgoals and engage recursion

Question 34

What makes expert problem solvers better than novices?

Answer 34

1. They have more knowledge than novices 2. They use better rules or strategies when solving problems

Question 35

Experts spend more time ______ a problem

Answer 35

Defining : When given ambiguous problems to solve, non-experts spent more time trying to develop a solution; experts to define the problem appropriately

Question 36

Representing a problem space : experts

Answer 36

Experts are more familiar with certain information and so they represent a problem differently than non-experts * Expert radiologists use ‘global’ visual processes when viewing scans * Do not focus on unnecessary details Eye fixation patterns :novices have more eye movements to look around more Experts are more efficient : know what to look for, more holistic way of looking at problem

Question 37

Experts engage different brain processes to view a problem

Answer 37

*Expert radiologists recruit broader visual areas when viewing chest xrays * Experts recruit more brain areas that process information related to their expertise : both hemispheres * Experts are better able to use domain-relevant knowledge to perform a task

Question 38

Novices activate ____ hemisphere of brain while experts activate ____ hemisphere

Answer 38

Novices : left hemisphere (activating working memory and cognitive load, maybe lower level strategies) Experts : right hemisphere ( (more abstract high level knowledge : more holistic)

Question 39

Experts ____ information when encoding based on prior knowledge

Answer 39

Chunk (e.g. expert chess players)

Question 40

What is happening in the brains of Chessmasters?

Answer 40

- Additional regions engaged by experts ONLY for a chess recognition task (not geometry task) - Bilateral activity when task taps into their chess expertise

Question 41

Limited transfer between domains

Answer 41

Being an expert in one domain does not mean you will be an expert in other domains