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Problem Solving
We view many situations in life as problems we
need to solve
Also, much of human behavior can be considered
problem solving, even if we dont think of it as such
Herb Simon provided a theoretical framework for
understanding how humans solve problems
2
What is a Problem?
Situation in which we have a goal
But the situation starts out being different from the
goal
Some obstacle prevents you from just converting the
situation from the start state to the goal state
3
What Can Be Learned?
How important our internal mental representations
are in influencing our behavior
Problem representation isnt out there in the world,
its in the problem solvers head
The success of our behavior depends on the nature
of the representation
4
Start
State
Goal
State
Missionaries and Cannibals
5
Problem Solving
Herb Simons Framework
Elements
States - Start and Goal
Operators - Ways to change the state
Intermediate states
Constraints
Problem space
6
Problem Space
Start
State
(none on right)
Goal
State
(all on right)
Intermediate States
1 on right 2 on right
3 on right
4 on right 5 on right
7
Constraints
First - Must use a boat to cross the river
Cant hold more than two
Must have at least one to row the boat
Second - Must never allow Cannibals to
outnumber Missionaries
8
Constraints
Start
State
(none on right)
Goal
State
(all on right)
Intermediate States
1 on right 2 on right
3 on right
4 on right 5 on right
9
Solution?
Start
State
(none on right)
Goal
State
(all on right)
Intermediate States
1 on right 2 on right
3 on right
4 on right 5 on right
1
1
10
Missionaries and Cannibals
Start
State
(none on right)
Goal
State
(all on right)
Intermediate States
1 on right 2 on right
3 on right
4 on right 5 on right
A
B
B2
C
C2
D
D2
E
1
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
10
11
Start
State
Move 1
Move 2 State 1
State 2 Move 3 State 3 Move 4
State 4
Move 5 State 5 Move 6 State 6 Move 7 State 7 Move 8
State 8 Move 9 State 9
Move 10 Move 11 State 10
Goal
State
Missionaries and Cannibals
12
What have we learned
about problem solving?
Framework
Strategies
An expert would have to represent problems
differently than a novice
13
Experts vs. Novices
Represent problem in terms of principles
Possesses lots of domain specific knowledge
Spend more time forming their representation
Then work forward , rather than using weak
methods
14
The problem space is in the problem solvers head
Our representation of the real world is in our head
How a problem is represented influences our success
as solving it
How we represent the world influences the success of
our behavior
What have we learned
about human behavior generally?