understanding problem solving
in problem solving, what do you do generally begin with
you begin with the initial state and try to overcome the obstacles to reach your goal
what is an example of algorithms
exhaustive research
how do experts differ from novices
with respect to attributes such as their knowledge base, problem-solving skills, accuracy, and cognitive skills
what do you need to do to understand a problem
create an accurate mental representation of the problem
why are heuristics faster
they examine a few alternatives, but they do not guarantee an appropriate solution
what do mental sets influence
your problem solving skills
why is attention relevant in problem solving
attention is limited because competing thoughts produce divided attention- problem solvers stay focused on the main parts of the problem
what is the analogy approach
people solve a new problem by referring to older problems
what does functional fixedness do
assign a specific function to an object, top-down processing
how does one represent a problem
by using approaches such as symbols, matrices, and visual images
what is the means-ends heuristic approach
an approach that divides a problem into sub-problems and then trying to reduce the difference between the initial start and end goal for each subproblem
difference between males and females
males and females score around the same on math exams, but females may experience stereotype threat if they think about the stereotype that females are less skilled at math- performance may result in lower test scores
what do environmental cues influence
they can influence that way you represent a problem, as a result you can solve the problem more accurately
what is the hill-climbing heuristic
at every choice point, you select the alternative that seems to lead most directly to the goal
what does the research on metacognition show
your confidence builds gradually for noninsight problems, in contrast your confidence on insight problems is initially low but suddenly increases when you solve a problem