Problem Solving and Expertise

Question 1

Aspects of problem solving:

Answer 1

• it is goal directed
• it involves cognitive rather than automatic processes
• a problem only exists when someone lacks the relevant knowledge to produce an immediate solution

Question 2

Knowledge-rich problems:

Answer 2

• Can only be solved by individuals possessing a considerable amount of specific knowledge

Question 3

Knowledge-lean problems:

Answer 3

• Don’t require the possession of specific knowledge
• Most traditional research involves these types of problems

Question 4

Representational change theory:

Answer 4

• Retrieval is based on spreading activation.
• An impasse is broken when the problem representation is changed through:
  Elaboration: addition of new problem information.
  Constraint relaxation: inhibitions on what is regarded as permissible are removed.
  Re-encoding: some aspect of the problem is reinterpreted.

Question 5

What is Analogical Problem solving?

Answer 5

When people don’t have direct relevant knowledge to a problem they provide knowledge indirectly through analogy.

Question 6

What are Chen (2002) three main types of similarity between problems?

Answer 6

• Superficial similarity - solution-irrelevant details are common to both problems.
• Structural similarity - causal relations among some of the main components are shared by both problems,
• Procedural similarity - procedures for turning the solution principle into concrete operations are common to both problems