Cognitive Psych Ch 13: Problem Solving and Creativity Study Guide

Describe and define "divergent" and "convergent" thinking.

- Convergent thinking: an ability to spot ways in which seemingly distinct ideas might be interconnected - Divergent thinking: an ability to move one's thoughts in novel, unanticipated directions - Forward flow: how much one's current thinking breaks away from past thoughts - Divergent thinking, convergent thinking, and forward flow all seem distinct from one another. - There may be different ways to be creative. - Creativity may depend on a combination of factors.

Describe how previous knowledge can improve your ability to solve problems, and why people seem to underuse analogies.

- In many cases, participants fail to map aspects of one problem to the other and only benefit when the experimenter points out the similarity. - This underscores the importance of getting beyond superficial features of a problem (surface structure) and to think about the underlying logic (deep structure).

What are some potential "prerequisites" for creativity to occur?

- Knowledge and skill in the domain - Certain intellectual capacities and personality traits - Motivated by the pleasure of the work - A conducive social, cultural, and historical context

What are some definitions of creativity?

- The use of imagination or original ideas - A phenomenon where something new and valuable is formed - Novel & functional - Transcend traditional ways of thinking

What is incubation and is there evidence that it occurs?

- We often have the experience of a solution popping into our heads for a problem that had been set aside - Studies of the incubation effect have been somewhat unreliable - Time away from a problem may help through a number of different mechanisms (new information, new problem-solving set)

Explain the difference between ill-defined and well-defined problems.

- Well-defined problems: correct answer, certain procedure that leads to a solution - Ill-defined problems: no one "correct" answer, no specific procedure - I want to get a good job

What are some different ways we can change the representation of a problem?

- hill climbing strategy - means end analysis - working backwards - Generate & Test -solving by analogy.

Describe the following methods that are typically used to solve problems: working backwards

Means-end analysis is used in reverse, asking how the goal state can be made similar to the current state.

Preparation

The first stage of creativity.The problem solver gathers information and does some work on the problem, but with little progress. In problem solving, the first in a series of stages often hypothesized as crucial for creativity. The second stage is incubation; the third, illumination; the fourth, verification. Preparation is the stage in which one begins effortful work on the problem, often with little progress.

Verification

The fourth stage of creativity. One of the four steps that are commonly hypothesized as part of creative problem solving; in this step, the problem solver confirms that a new idea really does lead to a problem solution, and then he or she works out the details. The other steps are preparation, incubation and illumination.

Describe the following methods that are typically used to solve problems: hill climbing strategy

A commonly used strategy in problem solving. If people use this strategy, then whenever their efforts towards solving a problem gives them a choice, they will always chose the option that will carry them closer to goal. Ex: if trying to climb up a hill, whenever there's a fork in the path you will always chose the path that is going uphill. Even if that path is blocked you won't go around, you will always try to go up. This strategy is of limited use, however, because many problems require you to briefly move away from the goal, and only then, from the new position, can the problem be solved. Ex. if there is a boulder in the path to the top of the hill, you must briefly move sideways around the boulder before you are able to continue moving up.

Describe the following methods that are typically used to solve problems: means-end analysis

A strategy used in problem solving in which the person is guided, step-by-step, by a comparison of the difference, at that moment, between the current state and the goal state, and by a consideration of the operators available for reducing that difference.

Describe the following methods that are typically used to solve problems: solving by analogy.

Example of this is the tumour problem. People simply given that problem on its own had a very hard time solving the problem (answer is summing up the low rays at the point of the tumour). People who were told the analogy of the dictator storming the fortress at all angles, but were not told there was any correlation with that analogy and the tumour problem, did a bit better in solving the problem but still had trouble with not that many participants being able to solve the problem. When told the analogy and that they should use the analogy to help them solve the tumour problem, almost all the participants were able to solve the tumour problem. Last condition uses mapping!

What is an expert and how do they solve problems differently than novices.

Experts are more likely than novices to use analogies. - Novices tend to think about problems in terms of their superficial structures. - Experts think about problems in terms of their deep structure. - In one study, a group of engineers discussing a problem used analogies every 5 minutes. - Experts-exceptional performance in a particular area - Expertise = enhanced problem solving -Developing Expertise10 or more years of intense practice - Experts are faster & more successful - Possess more knowledge - Knowledge is organized differently - Spend more time analyzing problems

Describe Wallas's four stages of creative thought and the evidence related to each stage.

Preparation—information gathering Incubation—conscious break Illumination—insight emerges Verification—the details worked out to solve problem

What is the problem space? Why does it make the game of Chess or the Hobbits & Orcs problem difficult?

Problem space: the set of all states that can be reached in solving the problem - The problem space for most real-life problems is extensive. - For example, the problem space in a game of chess has approximately 700 million paths within just a few turns. - Problem-solving heuristics can help to narrow the search. - Five orcs and five hobbits are on the east bank of a muddy river. They need to cross to the west bank and have located a boat. In each crossing, at least one creature must be in the boat, but no more than 3 creatures will fit in the boat. And of course, if the orcs outnumber the hobbits in any location, they will eat the hobbits! Therefore, in designing the crossing we must make certain that the hobbits are never outnumbered, either on the east bank or the west bank. How can the creatures get across without any hobbits being eaten?

Define the initial state, goal state, and path constraints with respect to problem solving

Problem-solving is a process in which one begins by deciding on a goal and seeks steps that will lead to that goal. Initial state - the knowledge and resources you have at the outset. Goal state - the state you are working towards. Path constraints - limits that rule out some operations.

Explain the physiological differences between insight and noninsight thought.

Problems requiring insight involve a distinctive set of brain processes. In Panel A, the letter R and the yellow arrow indicate the moment at which the research participant announced that he or she had figured out the problem solution, either for a problem requiring some insight (red line, keyed "I") or for a problem not requiring a special insight (blue line, keyed "NI"). To make the difference between these lines easily visible, the difference is shaded in yellow. The time axis shows the time relative to the participants' announcement that they'd found the problem's solution. The measure of "gamma power" is derived from EEG procedures, and it represents the square of the voltage measured in brain waves. Panel B shows the spatial focus of this distinctive brain process—called "gamma-band activity." The red dots in Panel B show where the EEG electrodes were placed.

Explain Metcalfe & Wiebe's (1987) study and what it found regarding insight.

Results of Metcalfe and Wiebe's (1987) experiment showing how participants judged how close they were to solving insight problems and algebra problems for the minute just before solving the problems.

Incubation

The second stage of creativity. Here the problem solver sets the problem aside and seems to not be working on it. Wallas argued, though, that the problem solver continues to work on the problem unconsciously during this stage, so the actual problem's solution is continuing to be developed, unseen. The second in a series of stages that are often hypothesized as crucial for creativity. The first stage is preparation; the third, illumination; the fourth, verification. Incubation is hypothesized to involve events that occur when a person puts a problem out of his or her conscious thoughts but continues nonetheless to work on the problem unconsciously. Many current psychologists are skeptical about this process, and they propose alternative accounts for data that ostensibly document incubation.

Illumination

The third stage of creativity.The third in a series of stages often hypothesized as crucial for creativity. The first stage is preparation; the second, incubation. Illumination is the stage in which some new key insight or new idea suddenly comes to mind and is then (on this hypothesis) followed by verification.

Describe the following methods that are typically used to solve problems: Generate & Test

Trial and Error generate and test possible solutions