psychology chapt. 8

Forming subgoals heuristics

Intermediate steps toward a solution.

Availability Heuristics

Involves basing the estimated probability of an event on the ease with relevant instances come to mind. Example(estimating divorce rates,by friends and family).

Representitive Heuristics

Involves basing the estimated probasbility of an event on how similar it is to the typical prototype of that event. (Example,coin toss)

Risky decision making

Involves making choices under conditions of uncertainty.

Trial and error heuristics

Involves trying possible solutions sequentially and discarding those that are in error until one works.

Barriers to effective problem solving

Irrelevent information,functional fixedness,Mental set, unnecessary constraints, and insight.

Heuristic

Is a guiding principle or "rule of thumb" used in solving problems or making decisions.

Additive strategy

Lists and rate the desired attributes that influence your decision. Pick the one choice with the largest total.

3 types of problems

Problems of inducing structure,Problems of arrangement,Problems of transformation

Problems of Arrangements

The person must arrange the parts in a way that satisfies some criterion. Example: the string and the anagram problems.

Problems of Transformation

The person must carry out a sequence of transformations in order to reach a specific goal. Examples: Hobits and orcs and the water jar problem.

Problems of inducing structure

The person must discover the relations amoung the parts of the problem,such as: Series of completion and analogy problems.

Functional Fixedness

The tendency to percieve an item only in terms of its most common use. Example: solving this problem requires finding a novel use for one of the objects. (screw driver).

Irrelevant Information

This problem leads people astray. Examples: The 15% of 200 names listed in phone book.

Approaches to problem solving

Trial and error,forming subgoals,hill climbing,searching for analogies, and changing representation,

Changing the representation of problem heuristic

Whether you solve a problem often hinges on how you envision it. Problems can be represented in a variety of ways: mathmatically,spatially, or verbally.

Decision making

involves evaluating alternatives and making choices among them.

Overestimate the improbable

people tend to overestimate the over dramatic, vivid but infrequent events, that recieve media coverage. (Example, tornadoes, murders, and floods)

Searching for analogies heuristics

using the solution to a previous problem to solve a current one. Similarities between problems.

Mental Set

when people persists in using problemsolving strategies that have worked in the past.

Hill climbing heuristics

which entails selecting the alternative at each choice point that appears to lead most directly to one's goal. (Choosing the steepest upward pathway).

The effect of an abundance of choices on decisions

Although enormous freedom sounds attractive, it does have unexpected costs, such as:Routinely making errors, postdecision regrets. That contibutes to depression.

Simon's theory of bounded rationality

Asserts that people tend to use simple stratagies in decision making that focus on only a few facets of available options and often result in irrational decisions that are less than optimal.

Cultural Problem solving

Easterners see whole,(big picture), where as westerners see parts.

Unnecessary constraints

Effective problem solving requires specifying all the constraints governing a problem without assuming any constraints that dont exists. Example,(connecting the dots)

Ignoring base rate

Estimating probabilities, people tend to ignore information on base rates. (Example, Sales people to Librarians are 75 to 1)

Recognition heuristic

If one of two alternatives is recognized, but the other is not. The recognized alternative has higher value.

Conjunction fallacy

Occurs when people estimate that the odds of two uncertain events happening together are greater than the odds of either event happening alone. Example, (College professors becoming polititions)

Insight

Occurs when people suddenly discover the correct solution to a problem after struggling with it for a while.

Elimination by aspects

People also make choices by gradually eliminating less attractive alternatives.