Cognitive Psychology: Practice Questions- Ch. 12

The ability to shift experience from one problem-solving situation to a similar problem is known as

analogical transfer

Dr. Chan is doing a follow-up study to the mutilated checkerboard problem experiment. In this new study, participants solve the following shoe problem before tackling the checkerboard problem. By doing this, Dr. Chan is studying the effect of _________________ on problem solving.

analogies

In its discussion of expertise and problem solving, your text identifies the kind of scientists who are most likely to make revolutionary discoveries in their fields. This particular discussion suggests that _________________ may be more important than _________________ in creative thinking.

flexibility; experience

Which term best describes the task of factoring the equation 9x2 + 5x - 7 = 4x2 - 2x + 8?

Analytical

Which of the following statements does NOT apply to the results of research on differences between how experts and novices solve problems?

Being an expert in one field can transfer to better problem solving in another field

When the process of analogical problem solving was applied to the fortress and radiation problems, which of the following represented the mapping step of this process?

Connecting the fortress with the tumor

Which of the following is not part of a complete definition of a problem?

Has one correct answer

A researcher records a brainstorming session in an industrial research and development department rather than in an artificial laboratory setting. Later, she analyzes the recorded discussions, identifying certain problem-solving techniques. This research is an example of_________________ research.

In vivo problem solving

Which of the following is not true about divergent thinking?

It has a single correct answer

Gick and Holyoak consider which of the following to be the most difficult step to achieve in the process of analogical problem solving?

Noticing that there is an analogous relationship between problems because most participants need prompting before they notice a connection

Which of the following is the core concept underlying the Gestalt perspective on problems?

Representation

The analogy that makes the solution to the mutilated checkerboard problem obvious is the _________________ problem.

Russian marriage

Which problem provides an example of how functional fixedness can hinder solution of a problem?

Two-string problem

Which of the following provides the best example of functional fixedness?

Using a juice glass as a container for orange juice

Insight refers to

a sudden realization of a problem's solution

The text's discussion of the research on in vivo problem solving highlighted that _________________ play(s) an important role in solving scientific problems.

analogies

The radiation problem was used in your text to illustrate the role of _________________ in problem solving.

analogy

In Kaplan and Simon's experiment, they presented different versions of the mutilated checkerboard problem. Participants in the _________________ group had the fastest response time.

bread and butter

The typical purpose of subgoals is to

bring the problem solver closer and closer to the goal state

Intermediate states can be created by

creating subgoals

Metcalfe and Wiebe gave participants problems to solve and asked them to make "warmth" judgments every 15 seconds to indicate how close they felt they were to a solution. The purpose of this experiment was to

demonstrate a difference between how people solve insight and non-insight problems

Ali works for Citrus Squeeze, a company that makes orange juice. Sales of their calcium-enhanced OJ have been poor, and the product was cancelled. His factory still had three cases of cartons, and Ali was told he could take them if he wanted them. With the cartons, Ali made several birdfeeders for his backyard and also planted tree seedlings in some of them; he used the remaining ones to build a "fort" for his four-year-old son. Ali's use of the cartons represents

divergent thinking

Experts categorize problems based on

general principles that problems share

Phoenix Decorating Company is responsible for designing and building many of the floral floats seen in the Tournament of Roses Parade every New Year's Day. Phoenix's designers start preparing the floats for the next year's parade soon after the first of the year. For each corporate sponsor, Phoenix gets their best advertising team members, and they sit in a room for several hours throwing out every idea they can come up with, no matter how good or bad it is. After a substantial list has been created, they then go through every idea and rate its merits or deficits, until they come up with the best idea to pitch to the corporate sponsor. This process demonstrates

group brainstorming

In the Tower of Hanoi problem, the _________________ state involves having three discs stacked on the left peg, with the middle and right pegs empty.

initial

In the two-string problem, tying the pliers to one of the strings best represents a(n) _________________ state.

intermediate

The analogical paradox refers to problem-solving differences between

laboratory and real-world settings

Finke's creating an object studies show that people were more likely to come up with creative uses for preinventive objects if they

made the objects themselves

Amber lives in a housing development between two parallel streets that both connect to a freeway. She usually takes the street to the south when heading southbound on the freeway to work, but that street is closed for repairs for three months. Amber takes the street to the north during that time. After the street to the south is re-opened, she continues to take the street to the north, even though it is a slightly longer route. Continuing to take the street to the north represents

mental set

Gick and Holyoak proposed that analogical problem solving involves the following three steps:

noticing, mapping, and applying

Functional fixedness would be LOWEST for a(n)

novel object

In the information-processing approach to problem solving, an operator is most closely associated with ________.

progress

Gestalt psychologists consider problem solving as a process involving

reorganization or restructuring

Warmth judgments on nearness to a solution _________________ prior to the solution of an insight problem and _________________prior to the solution of a non-insight problem.

rise suddenly just; gradually rise

Considering the fortress and the radiation problems together, the fortress problem represents the _________________ problem.

source

Experts _________________ than novices.

take a more effective approach to organizing the solution to a problem

Illustrative of functional fixedness, people are more likely to solve the candle problem if

the box is empty

Janet is alone in a room that contains a chair and a shelf with a book resting on top. She attempts to retrieve the book, but the shelf is a foot above her reach. How will Janet retrieve the book? Psychologists would NOT classify this scenario as a problem because

the solution is immediately obvious

Kaplan and Simon's experiment presented different versions of the mutilated checkerboard problem. The main purpose of their experiment was to demonstrate that

the way the problem is represented can influence the ease of problem solving

The best description of the purpose of think-aloud protocols is that they are used to determine

what information a person is attending to while solving a problem

Holly was in her mother-in-law's kitchen preparing lunch for the family. When she was ready to dish up the soup, she searched all the cupboards and drawers for a ladle but couldn't find one. She decided to wait until her mother-in-law returned to ask her where the ladle was, leaving the soup in the stove pot. Her mother-in-law later explained that the ladle had been broken, so she told Holly to use a coffee mug to "spoon" the soup into bowls. Holly's ability to solve the "dish up the soup" problem was hindered by which of the following obstacles?

Functional fixedness

In the movie Apollo 13, astronauts aboard a damaged spacecraft have to build a carbon dioxide filter out of random items that are aboard the ship with them. If they do not, they will all die rapidly of carbon dioxide poisoning. The fact that they are able to do so with the help of experts on Earth is similar to the _________________ approach developed by Ronald Finke.

divergent thinking

Finke's "creating an object" experiment had participants create a novel object by combining parts. Once they created an object, they were given the name of an object category and instructed to interpret their creation as a practical object or device within that category. Finke used the term preinventive forms to describe the

novel objects before a function was described

Actions that take the problem from one state to another are known as

operators

The elements of the problem space include all of the following EXCEPT

operators

The circle problem, in which the task is to determine the length of a line inside a circle, was proposed to illustrate

representation and restructuring

The radiation problem can be solved using

representation and restructuring

Newell and Simon were early pioneers in designing computer programs that could solve problems. Their research program was based on the idea that problem solving is a process that involves

search

The water-jug problem demonstrates that one consequence of having a procedure that does provide a solution to a problem is that, if well-learned, it may prevent us from

seeing more efficient solutions to the problem

In analogical problem solving, the _________________ problem is the problem that an individual is trying to solve, and the _________________ problem, which has been solved in the past, is used as a guide for reaching that solution.

target; source