Ch 11 problem solving and creativity pt 3

According to the research on mental sets, a. mental set is an overreliance on bottom-up processing. b. mental set is especially helpful when you are trying to solve a problem creatively. c. people may produce inferior problem solutions if they are shown examples of possible solutions before they try to solve the problem. d. mental sets neither help nor hinder problem solving.

c

Heather and Tom want to bake some blueberry muffins, but they do not have a muffin tin. So Heather takes some soda cans out of the recycling bin, Tom cuts the top 2 inches off of each can, and they use the bottoms of the cans to bake their muffins. Tom and Heather have demonstrated a. a fixed mindset. b. use of an algorithm. c. overcoming functional fixedness. d. the means-end analysis heuristic.

c

Imagine that a group of male college students is about to take a test of their ability to "read" other people's body language. The students are divided into three groups. Group A is not told anything about how males and females tend to perform on this test. Group B is told that males tend to outperform females on this test. Group C is told that females tend to outperform males on this test. Based on research regarding stereotype threat, we would expect that a. all three groups will perform similarly on the test. b. Group C will perform best, followed by Group A and then Group B. c. Group B will perform best, followed by Group A and then Group C. d. Both Group B and Group C will outperform Group A.

c

Suppose that Ramón is a Latino college student who is taking a course in engineering. He is about to take the first exam in this course. He looks around the room and notices that he appears to be the only Latino student in the class. Ramón is likely to experience a. functional fixedness. b. bottom-up processing. c. stereotype threat. d. intrinsic motivation.

c

Suppose that you believe you can increase your cognitive performance by challenging yourself to work harder and more effectively. According to your textbook, you would have a. a fixed mindset. b. overactive bottom-up processing. c. a growth mindset. d. creativity.

c

According to the discussion of insight problems and noninsight problems, a. insight requires a sudden solution to a problem, without awareness that the problem has been successfully solved. b. people solve insight problems more gradually than noninsight problems. c. noninsight problems require more creativity than insight problems. d. noninsight problems are typically solved in a systematic, one-step-at-a-time fashion

d

In functional fixedness, a. if an object has one particular function, we realize that the object can also be used in other capacities. b. we realize that a problem can be solved most efficiently by the hill-climbing heuristic. c. we rely too heavily on bottom-up processing. d. we assign a particular use to an object, and that use tends to remain stable.

d

Suppose your friend Ellen has lost the back to her earring. She looks around her room, picks up a pencil, removes the eraser, and uses the eraser as a substitute for the missing part. According to the chapter on problem solving, Ellen a. has solved an ill-defined problem. b. is too heavily guided by mental set. c. has focused on the initial state. d. has overcome functional fixedness.

d

Which of the following students provides the best explanation for stereotype threat during problem solving? a. Alper: "Stereotype threat can usually be traced to overactive bottom-up processing." b. Kristi: "Stereotype threat is basically caused by a growth mindset." c. Kevin: "Stereotype threat typically occurs because people use parallel processing, rather problem-solving heuristics." d. Nita: "Stereotype threat seems to cause a reduction in working memory, due to factors such as high arousal."

d

Chapter 11 discusses the effects of ethnic and gender stereotypes on a test that measures math problem-solving ability. This research shows that a. Asian women perform relatively well if their ethnicity is emphasized before they begin the math test. b. Asian women perform relatively well if their gender is emphasized before they begin the math test. c. European American women are not aware of stereotypes, and so they perform better than Asian women. d. There were no ethnic or gender differences in this study, showing that stereotypes in these two areas are no longer relevant in math problem solving.

a

The discussion of insight in problem solving pointed out that a. gestalt psychologists emphasized the importance of insight in solving problems. b. behaviorist psychologists were especially interested in the kinds of problems that require insight. c. when people solve insight problems, their confidence builds gradually as they work on the solution to a problem. d. people solve noninsight problems more quickly when they realize that their basic assumptions are not appropriate.

a

Which of the following would be an example of functional fixedness? a. Wanting to use a rope to tie your car trunk closed and failing to realize that you could use a coat-hanger for the task b. Thinking that you must solve an algebra problem the same way you solved the previous problem in the book c. Beginning at the end of an analogy problem and working backwards toward the initial state d. Failing to concentrate on the surface structure of a problem

a

Chapter 11 examines the effect of stereotype threat on problem solving. Which of the following students provides the most accurate information about stereotype threat? a. Kirsten: "When people are in a threatening situation, they try to act in a counter-stereotypical fashion." b. Liam: "Stereotype threat seems to reduce the capacity of working memory." c. Treena: "Stereotype threat seems to increase the use of the hill-climbing heuristic." d. Scott: "Stereotype threat seems to change problem-solving strategies, so that people are more likely to attend to the structural similarities of problems."

b

Evelyn notices that a screw on her bicycle is loose, and she doesn't have a screwdriver with her. So she searches through her pocket and finds a dime, which is the appropriate thickness to tighten the screw. Evelyn has demonstrated a. overcoming a mental set. b. overcoming functional fixedness. c. overcoming a heuristic. d. a fixed mindset.

b

Heidi is taking an online class with timed exams, and Heidi complains that the exams are not fair to her because she reads more slowly than the average student. Heidi's instructor tells her that reading speed and comprehension are skills that can be improved with practice, and encourages her to overcome this obstacle instead of using it as an excuse. Heidi's instructor is encouraging her to adopt a. a fixed mindset. b. a growth mindset. c. functional fixedness. d. creativity.

b

One way that functional fixedness and mental set are similar to each other is that a. Both emphasize our reliance on bottom-up processing. b. Both show that we rely too heavily on a strategy that is typically useful. c. Both show that we tend to emphasize the positive, rather than the negative. d. Both emphasize our inability to use situated learning effectively.

b

Suppose that you belong to an organization in which an average of only 8 out of 12 people attend meetings on a regular basis. Which of the following ideas best illustrates the way of overcoming a mental set when solving this problem of low attendance? a. Try to think of all the previous techniques the group has used, and vote to decide which technique to use this time. b. Encourage everyone to try to figure out a new way to solve the problem, avoiding the solutions that the group members had previously tried. c. Emphasize the importance of functional fixedness when trying to solve the problem. d. Use the hill-climbing heuristic to make sure that the group members choose the most direct route, each time they make a decision.

b

What is the difference between functional fixedness and mental set? a. A mental set is more rigid than functional fixedness. b. Functional fixedness emphasizes the objects involved in solving the problem, whereas mental set emphasizes the problem solver's strategies. c. Functional fixedness applies to problem finding, whereas mental set applies to problem solving. d. There is no substantial difference; the two terms are identical.

b

Which of the following students' summaries about metacognition and problem solving is the most accurate? a. Delmer: "Our metacognitions are typically more accurate for insight problems than for noninsight problems." b. Midori: "Students are not able to predict how well they are doing on a wide variety of problem-solving tasks." c. Saundra: "On insight problems, our confidence increases suddenly; on noninsight problems, our confidence builds up gradually." d. Steve: "Students typically have a feeling that they know the solution when they are several steps away from solving a problem—whether the problem is an insight problem or a noninsight problem."

c