Thinking and Reasoning/Problem Solving

Subgoals

*A heuristic that is part of the production step of problem solving Using intermediate steps e.g. in tower of Hanoi focus on moving the largest disk to the third post as your first subgoal - Doesn't work if a problem can't be subdivided - Doesn't work if it takes longer to subdivide the problem than to solve it by other means

Means-end analysis

*A heuristic that is part of the production step of problem solving Involves repeated tests for differences between the desired outcome and what currently exists - Each step brings the problem solver closer to a resolution - E.g. I need to go to school. What gets me there? The bus. The bus doesn't work. What do I need to fix it? A new battery. Where can I find one? The auto repair shop - Doesn't work if a step temporarily increases difference between current state and solution (e.g. having to backtrack to get to the right path up a mountain) - Doesn't work if working backward is more effective

The 3 Problem categories

1. Arrangement 2. Inducing structure 3. Transformation problems

Functions of thought

1. Decision making- choosing between 2 or more options 2. Problem solving- moving from a problem or error to a solution 3. Creativity- a novel solution 4. Reasoning- need evidence --> conclusion

3 steps of problem solving

1. Preparation: Understanding and diagnosing problems 2. Production: Generating solutions 3. Judgment: Evaluating solutions

Well-defined problem

Both the nature of the problem itself and the information needed to solve it are available and clear - E.g. math equation or solution to a jigsaw puzle

Schema

Category

Hindrances (NOTES

Distract - Mental set - Functional Fixedness

Syllogistic reasoning

Formal reasoning in which people draw a conclusion from a set of assumptions - start with assumption, ultimately reach a conclusion - must have accurate premises AND valid logic - E.g. all students do homework, Brandon is a student, so Brandon does homework

Divergent thinking

The ability to generate unusual, yet nonetheless appropriate, responses to problems or questions - Highly creative individuals show divergent thinking

Convergent thinking

The ability to produces responses that are based primarily on knowledge and logic

Problems of inducing structure

a person must identify the existing relationships among the elements presented and then construct a new relationship among them - E.g. Analogies, what number comes next in the pattern - Must determine relationships among elements and structure and size of the elements involved

Algorithm

a rule that, if applied appropriately, guarantees a solution to a problem - E.g. finding the length of a side of a right triangle using a^2+b^2=c^2 - E.g. solving a rubik's cube - Rules, steps, methodical

Representativeness heuristic

a rule we apply when we judge people by the degree to which they represent a certain category or group of people - E.g. If your store has been robbed many times by teenagers, raising your guard every time a teenager walks in - E. g. If everyone owns a ferrari then, even if I live somewhere where it snows all the time, I will buy one

Insight

a sudden awareness of the relationships among various elements that had previously appeared to be independent of one another - Aha moment - Kohler and his chimps stacking the boxes to get the bananas

Deductive reasoning

based on facts

Inductive reasoning

based on inferences, assumptions

Transformation problems

consists of an initial state, a goal state, and a method for changing the initial state into the goal state - E.g. Tower of Hanoi, arranging coins

Ill-defined problem

Specific nature of the problem may be unclear AND/OR the info required to solve the problem may be unclear - E.g. How to increase morale on an assembly line or how to bring peace to the Middle East

Availability heuristic

judging the probability of an event on the basis of how easily the event can be recalled from memory - Makes us more afraid of plane crashes than auto accidents bc we recall hearing about plane crashes more easily (though in reality much more likely to die in car crash)

Divergent production

taking an idea in a ton of different directions, wherever it might go

Creativity

the ability to generate original ideas or solve problem in novel ways - It's hard to understand what causes creativity - past experiences affect - brainstorming*

Thinking

the manipulation of mental representations of information - (representation=word, visual image, sound, data in any other sensory modality stores in memory) - allows us to answer questions, solve problems, reach goals -Processing of information in life

functional fixedness

the tendency to think of an object only in terms of its typical use - E.g. book is something to read, not a doorstop or kindling for a fire - E.g. Candle problem: boxes are containers for objects, not part of the solution - example of broader phenomenon of mental set

Concepts

A mental grouping of similar objects, events, or people - help us simplify our world E.g. we say "food" is in the fridge - help us classify newly encountered objects on basis of past experience E.g. even if we've never seen an iPhone, we know it's an electronic device when we see people tapping on a screen bc we've seen other brands - influence behavior E.g. We pet something that we classify as "dog," not something we classify as "wolf" - help us with REASONING

Heuristics

A thinking strategy that may lead us to a solution to a problem or decision, but--unlike algorithms--may sometimes lead to errors - E.g. putting an X in the center square in tic-tac-toe (doesn't guarantee a win, but increases chance of success) - trial and error, informal problem solving, don't guarantee a solution (NOTES)

Characteristics of problems (from notes)

Issues/questions solution - right answer errors- wrong answer clues Always a solution to every type of problem we encounter (??)

Convergent Production

Narrowing down on the solutions that are important

Is creativity related to intelligence?

Not closely. Intelligence: IQ tests measure convergent thinking skills (1 acceptable answer); divergent thinking is penalized --> Creativity only slightly related to school grades and intelligence when intelligence is measured using traditional intelligence tests

Mental set

The tendency for old patterns of problem solving to persist - functional fixedness is an example - E.g. jar problem p. 259 - "thinking outside the box" p. 260

Confirmation bias

The tendency to seek out and weight more heavily information that supports one's initial hypotheses and to ignore contradictory information that supports alternative hypotheses or solutions -E.g. U.S. Senate committee ignoring contradictory evidence because they had already made up their minds that Saddam Hussein possessed WMD - Occurs bc: 1) rethinking a problem takes effort and 2) we give greater weight to information that supports our initial position than to information that does not

Prototypes

Typical, highly representative examples of a concept (e.g. a robin is a prototype for a bird) - First experience to a stimulus, like being born (NOTES)

Subjectivity

What is important to certain people (important to me, important to others)

Cognitive complexity

preference for elaborate, intricate, and complex stimuli and thinking patterns i.e. creative people have wider range of interests, are more independent, are more interested in philosophical or abstract problems

Arrangement problems

rearrange or recombine elements in a way that will satisfy a certain criterion - E.g. anagrams, jigsaw puzzles - Several arrangements can be made, but only one or a few are solutions

Mental images

representations in the mind of an object or event - not just visual ("hear" a tune) -EVERY sensory modality may produce corresponding mental images - mental images have properties of the actual stimuli they represent: takes longer to scan mental images of bigger objects; we can rotate mental images just like we can rotate objects in the real world - athletes, musicians use mental images in training/practice