problem solving and creativity

• PROBLEM


  occurs when there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle.
• two types of problems

  well-structured problems (well-defined problems) and ill-structured problems (ill-defined problems)
• Well-defined problems


  usually have a correct answer; certain procedures, when applied correctly, will lead to a solution
• Ill-defined problems


  occur frequently in everyday life, do not necessarily have one “correct” answer, and the path to their solution is often unclear
• obstacle


  one or many factors that prevent us from solving our problem; our way to the goal state
• Problem solving


  how people represent a problem in their mind
• Problem solving


  an effort to overcome obstacles obstructing the path to a solution
• Wolfgang Kohler


  what is important is to obtained by first perceiving the object and then presenting it in a different way.
• restructuring


  the process of changing the problem’s representation
• insight


  sudden comprehension, realization, or problem solution that involves a reorganization of a person’s mental representation of a stimulus, situation, or event to yield an interpretation that was not initially obvious
• Janet Metcalfe and David Wiebe


  did an experiment designed to distinguish between insight problems and noninsight problems
• TWO INSIGHT PROBLEMS


  Triangle Problem and Chain Problem
• analytically based problems


  are solved by a process of systematic analysis, often using techniques based on past experience
• fixation


  people’s tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution.
• functional fixedness


  restricting the use of an object to its familiar functions
• candle problem


  was first described by Karl Duncker
• two-string problem


  the participants’ task was to tie together two strings that were hanging from the ceiling.
• mental set


  preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person’s experience or what has worked in the past.
• water-jug problem


  by Luchins
• Entrenchment


  another term for mental set; When problem solvers have an entrenched mental set, they fixate on a strategy that normally works well in solving many problems but that does not work well in solving this particular problem
• Stereotypes


  are beliefs that members of a social group tend more or less uniformly to have particular types of characteristics.
• stereotype threat


  Being aware of stereotypes about their group also can limit people’s performance when they expect to be evaluated.
• Tower of Hanoi


  In this problem, the problem solver must use a series of moves to transfer a set of rings (usually three) from the first of three pegs to the third of the three pegs, using as few moves as possible.
• search


  occurs between the posing of the problem and its solution.
• initial state


  conditions at the beginning of the problem
• goal state


  the solution of the problem
• operators


  actions that take the one problem from one state to another
• intermediate state


  had to go through a number of steps, each of which represented from the initial state to the goal state
• problem space


  made up of The initial state, goal state, and all the possible intermediate states for a particular problem
• means-end analysis


  the use of strategy is one way of directing the search
• subgoals


  intermediate states which are in line with that goal.
• The Mutilated-Checkerboard Problem (Craig Kaplan and Herbert Simon)


  used this problem and variations of it to study how the problem is stated affects its difficulty.
• think-aloud protocols


  a technique to achieve better understanding of participants’ thought processes as they were solving the problem.
• Isomorphic Problems


  two problems: their formal structure is the same, and only their content differs.
• Transfer


  any carryover of knowledge or skills from one problem situation to another
• Negative transfer


  occurs when solving an earlier problem makes it harder to solve a later one.
• Positive transfer


  occurs when the solution of an earlier problem makes it easier to solve a new problem.
• analogical problem solving


  When people think back to other problems they have encountered and solved, they may ask themselves whether the new problem is somehow similar to other ones they previously solved. If they find a relationship, they may have a starting point to solve the new problem.
• Transparency


  people see analogies where they do not exist because of similarity of content.
• Incubation


  putting the problem aside for a while without consciously thinking about it—offers one way in which to minimize negative transfer.