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Day 83: January 13 Problem Solving

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Day 83: January 13

Problem Solving

Some Basics

Cognition—the mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering, and communicating

SOME BASICS

Concepts—a mental grouping of similar objects, events, ideas, or people

Prototypes—a mental image or best example of a category. Matching new items to a

prototype provides a quick and easy method for sorting items into categories

ACTIVITY 1: What is prototypical? Give the best example (or first example that comes to mind) when given the following categories. After you write down

your answers, proceed to the next slide.

1. A bird

2. A color

3. A triangle

4. A motor vehicle

5. A sentence

6. A hero

7. A heroic action

8. A game

9. A philosopher

10. A writer

There are no “right” answers, but these are the most common responses, or the most prototypical

responses.

1. A bird

2. A color

3. A triangle

4. A motor vehicle

5. A sentence

6. A hero

7. A heroic action

8. A game

9. A philosopher

10. A writer

The table below moves from prototypical to atypical—some of which we wouldn’t even place in a category

of “vehicles” or “fruits.”

Which are cups, vases, or bowls? Your answer depends on your prototype for each.

Problem-Solving—process of cognition that occurs when a goal must be reached by thinking and behaving in certain ways.

DID YOU USE ANY OF THESE AS YOU ATTEMPTED TO SOLVE THE PUZZLES/BRAIN-TEASERS? TIPS FOR PROBLEM-SOLVING

1. Work backwards2. Recognize irrelevant information3. Graphic illustrations4. Restate the problem5. Insight and incubation6. Avoid unnecessary constraints

#1

Cross out six letters to make a single word out of the following:

C S R I E X L E A T T T E R E S

CONTENT CONNECTION: The Process of Problem-Solving

CHECK YOUR ANSWERS ON P. 10 AND 11

#1

Cross out six letters to make a single word out of the following:

C S R I E X L E A T T T E R E S

You must cross out the “S,” the “I,” the “X,” the “L”…and so on—all of the letters that comprise “Six Letters.”

The remaining letters spell: CREATE.

#2: Husbands and Wives

Three men—Fred, Ed, and Ted—are married to Joan, Sally, and Vickie, but not

necessarily in that order. Joan, who is Ed’s sister, lives in Detroit. Fred

dislikes animals. Ed weighs more than the man who is married to Vickie. The

man married to Sally breeds Siamese cats as a hobby. Fred commutes over 200

hours a year from his home in Ann Arbor, Michigan to his job in Detroit. Match up the men with the women they married.

Next slide will reveal answer.

#2: Husbands and Wives

Fred is married to Vickie.Ed is married to Sally.Ted is married to Joan.

PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

Trial and error—problem-solving method in which one possible solution after another is

tried until a successful one is found

PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

Algorithms—a methodical, logical rule or procedure that guarantees solving a particular

problem. This contrasts with the usually speedier—but more error—use of heuristics

It is a rule that guarantees an

answer, usually by way of a formula.

Take a minute to watch VIDEO 1: BIG BANG.

S P L O Y O C H Y G

UNSCRAMBLE THE WORD BELOW.

PSYCHOLOGY

If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word

using an algorithmic approach, we would face

907,208 possibilities…SO INSTEAD, YOU USED A…

UNSCRAMBLE THE WORD BELOW.

PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

Heuristic—a simple thinking strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve

problems efficiently; usually speedier but more error-prone that algorithms…more on

this later.

PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

Rule of thumb—a general rule that fits most situations

Check out this site that documents general RULES OF THUMB.

http://rulesofthumb.org/

PROBLEM-SOLVING STRATEGIES

Insight—a sudden and often novel realization of the solution to a problem; it contrasts with

strategy-based solutions

This is like Skinner’s pigeon who suddenly got the idea to use the box as a stool to get the hanging fruit.

#3

The maker doesn’t want it, the buyer doesn’t use it, and the user doesn’t see

it. What is it?

Next slide will reveal answer.

#3

A COFFIN

#4

What number is next in the series: 10, 4, 3, 11, 15, _?

A. 14

B. 1

C. 17

D. 12

Next slide will reveal answer.

#4

What number is next in the series: 10, 4, 3, 11, 15, _?

A. 14

Ten is spelled with three letters, four with four, three

with five…and so on.

#5

a. STA4NCE

b. O_ER_T_O_

c. LITTLE LITTLE LATE LATE

d. YOU JUST ME

Next slide will reveal answer.

#5

a. STA4NCE: For instance

b. O_ER_T_O_: Painless operation

c. LITTLE LITTLE LATE LATE: Too little, too late

d. YOU JUST ME: Just between you and me

#6

Next slide will reveal answer.

#6

CONTENT CONNECTION:TRIAL AND ERROR

#10: REMOTE ASSOCIATION TEST

a. Law, Birthday, Swim

b. Brother, Sister, Knight

c. Paint, Doll, Dog

d. Cottage, Cake, Blue

e. Toast, Poodle, Kiss

f. Heart, Tooth, Talk

Next slide will reveal answer.

#10: REMOTE ASSOCIATION TEST

CONTENT CONNECTION:TRIAL AND ERROR

a. Law, Birthday, Swim: SUIT

b. Brother, Sister, Knight: HOOD

c. Paint, Doll, Dog: HOUSE

d. Cottage, Cake, Blue: CHEESE

e. Toast, Poodle, Kiss: FRENCH

f. Heart, Tooth, Talk: SWEET

Creativity—the ability to produce novel and valuable ideas

ROBERT STERNBERG’S COMPONENTS OF CREATIVITY

1.Expertise2.Imaginative thinking skills3.A venturesome personality4.Intrinsic motivation5.A creative environment

Convergent thinking—type of thinking in which a problem is seen as having only one

answer, and all lines of thinking will eventually lead to that single answer, using

previous knowledge and logic.

Divergent thinking—type of thinking in which a person starts from one point and comes up with many different ideas or

possibilities based on that point.

OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING

#9: Paper clip

Write down all the different uses for this ordinary paper clip.

CONTENT CONNECTION: Creativity

#9: Paper clip

Write down all the different uses for this ordinary paper clip.

Speaker Ken Robinson suggests that children are much better at this than adults. Robinson asserts that schools kill

creativity. (I strongly disagree with this, by the way.)

#9: Paper clip

Some great examples of creativity.

Hull strawberries easily using a straw.

Stop cut apples browning in your childs lunch box by securing with a rubber band.

Pump up the volume by placing your iPhone & iPod in a bowl. The concave shape amplifies the music.

Overhaul your linen cupboard, store bed linen sets inside one of their own pillowcases and there will be no more hunting through piles for a match.

Bake cupcakes directly in ice-cream cones, so much more fun and easier for kids to eat.

A muffin pan becomes a craft caddy. Magnets hold the plastic cups down to make them tip-resistant.

Toast your bread to perfection.

Put your baby to work mopping.

Someone stealing your sandwich. The bag makes it “look” moldy.

Obstacles to problem solving

Confirmation Bias—a tendency to search for information that supports our preconceptions

and to ignore or distort contradictory evidence

OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING

Mental set—a tendency to approach a problem in one particular way, often a way

that has been successful in the past

Functional fixedness—the tendency to think of things only in terms of their usual functions; an impediment to problem

solving

OBSTACLES TO PROBLEM SOLVING

Fixation—the inability to see a problem from a new perspective by employing a different

mental set

#7

Next slide will reveal answer.

#7

CONTENT CONNECTION:FIXATION, MENTAL SET, FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS

#8

CONTENT CONNECTION:FIXATION, MENTAL SET, FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS

These innovators have successfully overcome FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS.

Turn your muffin pan upside down, bake cookie-dough over the top and voila, you have cookie bowls for fruit or ice-cream.

Create a window-box veggie patch using guttering.

Use egg cartons to separate and store your Christmas decorations.

Making Decisions and Forming Judgments

Intuition—an effortless, immediate, automatic feeling or thought, as contrasted

with explicit conscious reasoning

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

A bat and a ball

A bat and a ball cost $1.10 in total. The bat costs $1 more than the ball. How much does

the ball cost?

Next slide will reveal answer.

A bat and a ball

The bat costs $1.05; the ball costs 5 cents. Did you get it wrong? Lots of people do.

Intuition can steer us wrong.

Next slide will reveal answer.

Overconfidence—the tendency to be more confident than correct—to overestimate the

accuracy of our beliefs and judgments

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

Fact: only 50% of people in any particular field can be above average.

Fact: 80% of the people in the US describe themselves as above average.

(Therefore, 30% of Americans have an unrealistic view of their abilities.)

Representative heuristic—judging the likelihood of things in terms of how well

they seem to represent, or match, particular prototypes; this may lead us to ignore other

relevant information

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

Who went to Harvard?

You see where this is going, right?

Who went to Harvard?

Sonia Dara did. A 2013 grad. She probably doesn’t not fit/”represent” our image of a

Harvard student.

Availability heuristics—estimating the likelihood of events based on their

availability in memory; if instances come readily to mind (perhaps because of their vividness), we presume such events are

common

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

Earlier this year, Ebola seemed to be sweeping the world. You might be surprised to know that you have a 1:13.3

million chance of contracting Ebola.

To put this in perspective, you have a 1:3.7 million chance of being killed by a shark in your lifetime.

AVAILABILITY HEURISTIC affects our thinking. See more on link at the bottom of the lesson

to see Ebola statistics.

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

Which city in the US has the highest crime rate?What came to mind?

City Crime Risk Index1. St. Louis 5302. Atlanta 484

3. Birmingham Alabama (tie) 380

3. Orlando (tie) 380

5. Detroit 3696. Memphis 3617. Miami 3468. Baltimore 339

9. Kansas City, Missouri 337

10. Minneapolis (tie) 33110. Cleveland (tie) 331

The 11 Most Dangerous CitiesThese cities have the highest overall crime rates in the United States

Availability Heuristic

Why does our availability heuristic lead us astray?If it is easy to recall (remember), the probability or

frequency must be very high.

How is retrieval facilitated?

1. How recently we have heard about the event.

2. How distinct it is.

3. How correct it is.

Belief perseverance—clinging to one’s initial conceptions after the basis on which they

were formed has been discredited

Please read p. 15 in notes packet.

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS

Framing—the way an issue is posed; how an issue is framed can significantly affect

decisions and judgments

MAKING DECISIONS AND FORMING JUDGMENTS