Psyc 317: Cognitive Psychology

Problem Solving

Outline
How problem solving works
Problem solving as restructuring Problem solving as search Problem solving through analogies

How experts solve problems Creative cognition Problem solving and the brain
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What is an analogy?
Analogies occur when there are parallels between two different situations Analogical problem solving is a way to restructure a problem in a parallel fashion
Use solution to one problem to solve another
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The importance of how a problem is stated

Sometimes, figuring out where to start is the toughest Kaplan & Simon (1990) - Mutilated checkerboard problem

Mutilated Checkerboards
A checkerboard consists of 64 squares. These squares can be completely covered by placing 32 dominos on the board so each covers two squares. If we eliminate two opposing corners, can we cover the remaining squares with 31 dominos?

Kaplan & Simon Methods

4 groups, each receive different condition
Blank squares Colors

Pink Black

Bread Butter
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Goal: Parity Representation

Insight: Laying down a domino must cover different squares (black & pink, never black & black) When you remove two corners, you remove two like squares The answer? No, 31 dominos will not cover the board
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How most people do this

Started with 64 squares, took 2 away.
62 / 2 = 31, so 31 dominos should do it. Then when they try it on paper, it doesnt work.

Try utilizing the words on the paper

Notice domino covers bread and butter Also notice two breads were removed Come to the correct conclusion
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Kaplan & Simon Results

Bread & butter group solved the problem twice as fast as blank group Bread & butter group: 1 hint Blank group: 3.14 hints
Color and pink & black groups: In between blank and bread & butter
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What does this show?

The Gestalt idea of restructuring a problem - Insight! This can also be achieved through analogy

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Telling an analogous story

In a small village, there were 32 bachelors and 32 unmarried women. The matchmaker succeeded in arranging 32 satisfactory marriages. Then one drunken night, two bachelors, in a test of strength, killed each other. Can the matchmaker come up with 31 heterosexual marriages among the 62 survivors?
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Dunckers Radiation Problem

Malignant Tumor with ray to destroy it Ray of proper intensity to destroy tumor will also destroy healthy tissue Ray of intensity to not destroy healthy tissue will not destroy tumor
What do you do?
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Did you solve it?

What about a story called The General?

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How about now?

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This is actually how its done!

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The Generals Radiation Problem

The stories are analogous
Source problem: The General
Source because you were given the solution

Target problem: Radiation problem Fits in with idea of restructuring

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Gick & Holyoak (1980)

Did a study with the radiation problem and The General story Only 10% could solve the radiation problem with no help After hearing The General, another 30% could solve it When hinted that two stories were related, 75% of people got the answer
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Hearing the story is not enough

Three steps to understand analogy between problems
Noticing the analogous relationship Mapping the correspondence between source and target problems Applying the mapping to generate a parallel solution

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Schemas and analogies

Can you induce subjects to create a problem schema? They could activate it - a process called schema induction
Gick & Holyoak tested this process

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Gick & Holyoak (1983) Methods

Participants read two of four stories
The General The Fire Chief Two others

Then asked to describe their similarities Finally asked to solve the radiation problem
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Schema classification: Good

Both stories used the same concept to solve a problem, which was to use many small forces applied together to add up to one large force necessary to destroy the object. 21%
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Schema classification: Intermediate and Poor

Intermediate: In both cases, many small forces were used.
20%

Poor: In both stories, the hero was rewarded for his efforts.
59%
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Gick & Holyoak Results

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So what can we say?

Note how only 21% of people created good schemas Were still not fully aware of what happens during problem solving But we understand how to make it better
Through practice and training
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Outline
How problem solving works
Problem solving as restructuring Problem solving as search Problem solving through analogies

How experts solve problems Creative cognition Problem solving and the brain
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Experts are good at solving problems

Experts: People who, through intensive study, have become acknowledged as being knowledgeable about their field
They solve problems in their field better and faster than novices
Why?
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Experts Possess More Knowledge About Their Fields

Chase & Simons chess chunking study
Experts can chunk common game pieces together
Able to remember more chess pieces NOT if chess pieces are randomized

Novices cannot chunk

Could not remember many chess pieces
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Chess experts vs. novices

Chess experts (more than 10,000 hours of play)
50,000 chess patterns in memory

Chess novices
1,000 chess patterns in play

Poor players
Few or none
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Experts Knowledge is Organized Differently

Chi et al. (1982) - Give 24 physics problems to experts (professors) and novices (students with one semester of physics)
Ask each group to organize them

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Chi et al. Results

NOVICES EXPERTS

Same physics principals

Look the same

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Experts Spend More Time Analyzing Problems

An expert will try to understand the problem and underlying concepts before diving in
Example: Drawing a picture before writing equations

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Experts Are No Better Outside of their Domain

Voss et al. (1983) - Gave a problem involving Soviet agriculture to 3 groups
Expert political scientists Novice political scientists Expert chemists

Only the expert political scientists solved the problem well

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Experts do not always know best

Younger scientists are often responsible for revolutionary discoveries (Kuhn, 1970;
Simonton, 1984)

Experts are worse than novices at situations that require flexible thinking
(Frensch & Sternberg, 1989)

Good news for me!

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Outline
How problem solving works
Problem solving as restructuring Problem solving as search Problem solving through analogies

How experts solve problems Creative cognition Problem solving and the brain
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Creativity is important to PS
The basics of creativity is not wellstudied
How do you study it?

But some research has shown how good we are at it

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Finkes Object Creation Task

Pick three numbers

9 10 11 12

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14

15

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Now create your object

Construct a new object using these three parts Should be interesting and possibly useful Should NOT correspond to a familiar object Vary size, position, orientation, and materials of the parts
NOT the shape (except for wire and tube)

When youre ready, draw a picture of it

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Youve made a preinventive form

Now, for each of these categories, imagine how your object could be used
Furniture Transportation Toys and games Personal items

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An example from a subject

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Finke Results
A panel of judges rated 360 created objects
120 were rated as practical inventions 65 were rated as creative inventions

Anyone can be creative - you dont need training or even practice

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Divergence & Creativity

Divergent thinking - Open-ended, no correct answer Convergent thinking - One correct answer to a problem

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Divergent Thinking
Creativity tests employ divergent thinking
Asking participants to determine as many uses as possible for familiar objects like bricks

Correlation between tasks claiming to measure creativity are modest (Guilford, 1967)
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Outline
How problem solving works
Problem solving as restructuring Problem solving as search Problem solving through analogies

How experts solve problems Creative cognition Problem solving and the brain
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Imaging the brain during chess

Nichelli et al. (1994)

Asked questions like Can the white knight capture the black rook?
Identifying chess pieces Determining piece location Thinking about a move Remembering previous moves Planning & executing strategies Occipital -> Temporal Lobe Occipital -> Parietal Lobe Premotor area Hippocampus Prefrontal cortex

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Playing Chess & the Brain

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Wow, thats a lot of brain

Its not surprising that complex problem solving needs a lot of the brain But whats new is the planning and executing strategies
This requires the prefrontal cortex

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Prefrontal Cortex, eh?

Damage to the PFC causes perseveration
Patients cannot switch from one pattern of behavior to another

Wisconsin Card Sorting Task

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WCST Example

Place this card in one of the piles:

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Whats the catch?

The sorting rules change after some number of trials So first its color, and then its color for the next 15 cards But then it switches to shape
The research question: How long does it take someone to switch?
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Common WCST Results

Normal people: Takes 2-3 tries to figure out the new rule People with PFC damage: Is often unable to figure out the new rule
Usually stick with the old rule Unable to change previous behavioral pattern
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The Prefrontal Cortex is used in

Control of strategies Planning Reasoning Integrating information

Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC)

Is it the central executive? Hmmm
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The Prefrontal Cortex is used in

Personality and emotional regulation Ability to delay gratification Other parts of the PFC (orbitofrontal cortex) used in emotional regulation Phineas Gage
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