Focused Thinking
Begins with clear starting point and has specific goal
Unfocused Thinkiing
Like daydreaming, unintentionally calling to mind a number of different and loosely related ideas
Well-defined problems
- have a clear goal (you now when you solved one)
- present small set of information to start
- often present set of rules or guidelines
Ill-defined problems
-don’t have goals, starting information or spelled-out steps
performance not correlated with that on well-defined problems
Knowledge-rich problem
relevant background knowledge needed to solve the problem
Knowledge lean problem
do not demand much prior knowledge
Convergent Thinking/Problem
Has a corret answer, does not require much creativity
e.g. multiple choice items
Divergent Thinking/Problem
Has multiple answers
e.g. open-ended exam items
Control processes
required for problem solving
-> does not happen subconsciously
Problem-solving heuristics
- Generate-and-Test-Technique
- Means-Ends Analysis
- Working Backward
- Backtracking
- Reasoning by Analogy
Generate and Test Technique
generating possible solutions and then testing them
- > loses efficiency when there are many possibilities and without guidance for generation process (e.g. trying combinations for lock-pin)
- useful when amount of possibilities limited
- progress-monitoring: changing approach when it doesn’t work
Means-Ends Analysis
Comparing goal with starting-point, then thinking of possible ways of overcoming the difference and choosing the best one
- > options might have preconditions (of not met -> establish subgoals to break down the task)
- > can be difficult when path to goal is indirect (Hill-climbing effect)
Hill-climbing effet
Issue whith a problem where you have to desire to go forward and pick up where you left off even though you have to take a step back first to be able to advance later
Working Backward
Goal is analyzed to determine last step needed to achieve it, then next-to-last step etc.
- > establishing subgoals (similarly to means-ends just other way around)
- > most effective when path to goal is unique (more efficient than going forward)
Backtracking
Problem-solving sometimes involves making universal provisional assumptions which turn out to be wrong and need to be eliminated
- > useful to keep track when which assumption was made so certain paths can be backed up
- > often done by setting up a flow chart to keep track of choices
Reasoning by Analogy
Using an abstract schema to construct a representation of the scenario to solve the problem
-> e.g. tumor problem
Factors hindering problem-solving
- Mental Set
- Functional Fixedness
- Using incomplete or incorrect represenations
- Lack of problem-specific knowledge or expertise
Mental Set
Tendency to adopt a framework, strategy, procedure, or seeing things in a certain way instead of other equally plausible ways
Functional Fixedness
Unwillingness to think of other functions for a tool than what they are usually thought for when problem-solving
Problem Space Hypothesis
Behind every possible state or possibility within a problem there is a a corresponding node in a mental graph
Problem space: set of nodes (mental area) + graph
Mental moves: sequence of nodes
Creativity
Originality that serves some purpose:
combination or recombination of knowledge, informatino, or mental representations (already present in creator)
-> change in frame of reference in knowledge
Direct remembering
Ability to channel your memory in order to make conscious some past experience or knowledge meeting various constraints
Noticing
Revising drafts during which one needs to notice where the problems are
Contrary Recognition
Ability to recognize objects not for what they are but as sth. else (e.g. seeing a cloud as a castle)
-> requires moving beyond bounds of reality
