HPS203 Lecture 13: HPS203 Week 13
HPS203 Week 13
TOPIC 10: PROBLEM SOLVING & INTELLIGENCE
1. Describe problem solving as a process of search
• Process of search: as though navigating through a maze, seeking a path toward a goal.
1. Initial search: thek knowledge and resources you have at the outset
2. Set of operators: actions that can change your state
3. Path constraints: such as limited time or money, or ethical limits
• Begin with an initial state & use set of operators to move towards
the goal while path constraints rule out some solutions.
• E.g. in a board game;
-Operators: moves you can make – transporting creatures back and fourth
-Path constraints: rules that place limits on moves- no hobbits can be eaten
• Problem space: the set of all states that can be reached in solving this problem
-E.g. In a game of chess, evaluating which sequence of play puts you in the best position
2. Explain the hill-climbing and means-end analysis heuristics
• Heuristic: strategies that are efficient, but at the cost of
occasional errors
• Hill-climbing strategy: Choose the option that moves you in the
direction of your goal
-E.g. when climbing to the top of the mountain, you choose the fork in the path that goes
uphill
-Disadvantage: Many problems require that you briefly move away from your goal: then,
only from the new position can the problem be solved.
• Means-end analysis: compare current state to the goal state & ask ‘what means do I have
to make these more alike?’
-Leads you to break a problem into smaller sub-problems, each with its own goal.
-By solving sub-problems one by one you address the larger goal.
3. Describe when is it useful to use pictures and diagrams to solve problems
• Mental images are preferable over actual pictures for: -Depicting motion
• Actual pictures are preferable over imagery for:
-For detailed forms (which can be difficult to imagine clearly) -Advantages of externalizing:
there is limits on what can be imagined clearly, which leads to drawing a picture based on
the image e.g. architects
4. Describe problem solving by analogy using the tumour problem as an example
• Problem solving via analogy: using experiences of problems solved in the past to solve the
current problem
• Gick & Holyoak (1980): 75% participants solved the tumor problem when instructed to
read about a related situation prior. Without the hint situation, only 10% solved the
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problem. -Analogy (tumor problem to previous situation) was found to lie dormant in
memory unless use was instructed
• To locate useful analogies in memory, people need to go beyond superficial features and
think about the principles governing the problem (the problems ‘deep structure’ rather than
‘surface structure’)
• Also, need to figure out how to map prior case onto the current problem e.g. fortress
represents tumor
5. Describe the strategies that help people to use analogies
• Pay attention to problems’ deep structure -As a result, are more likely to use analogies
• Break a problem into sub-problems/chunking/divide into meaningful parts
-Solve a problem part by part rather than all at once -E.g. in a chess game; grouping pieces
according to their strategic function to keep track of board strategies
6. Explain why experts are better problem solvers than novices
• Experts know much more about their domain of expertise than novices
• In many cases, experts have received feedback/instructions that have improved their
performance
• Experts can organize their information more efficiently
• Experts information is cross-referenced- so that each bit of
information has associations to many other bits (thus better
access to what they know)
• Novice are more likely to define problems in terms of superficial
features while experts define a problem in their area of expertise in terms of the problems
underlying dynamic (experts are more likely to break a problem into meaningful parts &
realize what other problems are analogous to the current problem)
7. Distinguish between ill-defined and well-defined problems
• Ill-defined problems: no clear statement at the outset of how the
goal should be characterized or what operations might be used to reach that goal
-E.g. having a good time on holiday or saving money for college -Best approach is to create
sub-goals (because many have reasonably well-defined parts)
-Can also add some structure to the problem, by adding extra constraints/extra assumptions
(gradually rendering the problem well-defined)
• Well-defined problems: Initial state, goal & operators are cleared stated at the start
-E.g. get all the hobbits to the other side of the river, using the boat.
8. Define functional fixedness and explain how it affects problem solving
• Functional fixedness: the tendency to be rigid in how you think about an objects function
• E.g. In a problem; ceasing thinking of a box as a container and instead as a potential
platform (changing how the box is represented)
• Problems are rarely solved with fixedness in place
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9. Define einstellung and how it affects problem solving
• Einstellung/Problem-solving set: collection of beliefs &
assumptions a person makes about a problem.
- Einstellung= German ‘attitude’ = describes problem solvers perspective (beliefs, habits,
preferred strategies etc)
• When people start to work on a problem & because of early steps-get locked into a
particular line of thinking
• When people discover a strategy that gets the job done, there is little reason to continue
hunting for alternatives. When a new problem arises that cannot be solved with the prior
formula, performance suffers.
10. Explain the costs and benefits of having a problem solving set
Costs Benefits
Obstacle; a set can blind you to important
options
A set blinds you to futile strategies;
allowing focus on options that are likely to
work. Otherwise may be distracted by silly
notions.
Most problems offer a huge number of
options for seeking a solution. A problem
set helps narrow options-eases the search
for a solution.
Tells you which options are plausible &
physically possible e.g. do not wait for
Martians to visit and whisper solution in
your ear.
11. Describe what case studies of creativity have told us
• Creativity involves factors inside & outside the person ‘Prerequisites’ for creativity
• Great knowledge & skills in relevant domain
• Personality traits: willingness to ignore criticism, willingness to take
risks, ability to tolerate ambiguous findings or situations &
inclination to not follow crowd.
• Motivated by pleasure of own work rather than by external
rewards; tend to work extremely hard on & produce a lot of their
work.
• ‘In the right place at the right time’; environments that allowed
their freedom & provided them with the appropriate support & resources.
12. Describe Wallas’s four stages of creative thought and whether there any empirical
support for them
1. Preparation:problemsolvergathersinformationaboutthe problem.
-Periods of effortful/frustrating work with little progress
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