Deck 12: Problem Solving

Question 1

Means-end analysis requires that people

A)formulate subgoals.
B)work backwards.
C)reduce differences between the current state and goal state.
D)use analogy to solve problems.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

According to Greeno's classification, which of the following is an example of an arrangement problem?

A)missionaries and cannibals
C)anagrams
B)verbal analogies
D)series completion

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Which of the following problems is correctly classified according to Greeno's system?

A)anagrams - inducing structure
C)water jar - arrangement
B)series completion - inducing structure
D)analogy - arrangement

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What kind of problems did Gestalt psychologists primarily study?

A)inducing structure
C)transformation
B)arrangement
D)analogies

Question 5

Moving matchsticks to form true arithmetic statements illustrates that successful solutions require overcoming

A)limited capacity STM.
C)self-imposed constraints.
B)functional fixedness.
D)All these

Question 6

According to Greeno's classification, which of the following is an example of a transformation problem?

A)missionaries and cannibals
C)anagrams
B)verbal analogies
D)series completion

Question 7

Sternberg discovered individual differences for inducing structure problems by finding high correlations in performance between which pair of problems?

A)analogy and anagrams
C)series completion and anagrams
B)series completion and analogy
D)matchsticks and anagrams

Question 8

Which of the following does not belong?

A)Newell and Simon
C)Measure of sufficiency
B)Computer simulation program
D)Insight

Question 9

What is a search space?

A)a list of all the different ways the subject can obtain solution-relevant information
B)a representation of all legal states the problem can assume and the moves that lead to the solution
C)an aspect of the task that is left blank because its analysis is problematic
D)the set of all the elements that make a thing, plus the relations among those elements

Question 10

Metcalfe found that subjects' ratings revealed that they thought they were not making progress until the very end when solving

A)arrangement problems.
C)transformation problems.
B)inducing structure problems.
D)analogies.

Question 11

Which is not a type of problem according to Greeno's (1978) taxonomy?

A)arrangement
C)insight
B)inducing structure
D)transformation

Question 12

According to Greeno's classification, which of the following is an example of an inducing structure problem?

A)missionaries and cannibals
C)anagrams
B)water jar problem
D)series completion

Question 13

The tendency to perceive an object only in terms of its most common use is called

A)tunnel vision.
C)insight.
B)functional fixedness.
D)rigidity.

Question 14

Which of the following information processing characteristic was not mentioned in Newell and Simon's theory of problem solving?

A)capacity of the sensory store
C)storage time into LTM
B)capacity of STM
D)retrieval time from LTM

Question 15

Which of the following does not illustrate overcoming functional fixedness?

A)Using paper to draw a diagram
B)Using a small box as a platform
C)Using a screwdriver as a weight for a pendulum
D)Using a shower pipe to melt plastic

Question 16

According to Newell and Simon, which of the following characteristics is important for problem solving?

A)Capacity
C)Retrieval time
B)Storage time
D)All these

Question 17

Which problems differ from others in providing the goal state, rather than requiring solvers to produce it?

A)arrangement problems
C)inducing structure problems
B)anagram problems
D)transformation problems

Question 18

Which techniques played an important role in Newell and Simon's work?

A)verbal protocols and reaction times
B)verbal protocols and computer simulation
C)reaction times and computer simulation
D)reaction times and physiological measurements

Question 19

The most important contribution of computers for simulating human behavior is

A)their ability to perform computations too complex for humans.
B)their ability to compute at nearly the speed of light.
C)that they require psychologists to formulate detailed theories.
D)that they require psychologists to learn how to program.

Question 20

Insight

A)is a form of discovery.
B)usually occurs after repeated unsuccessful solutions.
C)occurs suddenly.
D)All of these

Question 21

What does the table of connections in the General Problem Solver connect?

A)differences between problem states with operators
B)analogous solutions with problems
C)algorithms with problems
D)military tactics with battles

Question 22

Means/end analysis involves

A)a gradual approximation to the final solution.
B)a sudden acquisition of the solution following random moves.
C)a failure to obtain the solution.
D)a sudden acquisition of the solution on the first move.

Question 23

Which strategy uses a table-of-connections?

A)analogy
C)forming subgoals
B)working backwards
D)means/end analysis

Question 24

The use of analogy to solve Duncker's radiation problem was most effective when people

A)read a single analogous story.
B)read and compared two analogous stories.
C)read two analogous stories.
D)elaborated on a single analogous story.

Question 25

Which is not a general strategy for searching for a solution?

A)means/end analysis
C)analogy
B)insight
D)subgoals

Question 26

Successful transfer from the bridges problem to the handshake problem depended on the successful use of

A)networks.
C)Venn diagrams.
B)matrices.
D)hierarchies.

Question 27

A heuristic is a

A)step-by-step sequence of actions that guarantees success.
B)step-by-step sequence of actions that is often helpful.
C)general strategy that guarantees success.
D)general strategy that is often helpful.

Question 28

For which pair of problems is it possible to use analogy?

A)attack-dispersion and missionary-cannibal problems
B)missionary-cannibal and radiation problems
C)radiation and string problems
D)attack-dispersion and radiation problems

Question 29

Which representation should you select if you want to represent information in a problem by a single pathway between nodes?

A)networks
C)Venn diagrams
B)matrices
D)hierarchies

Question 30

Which of the following does not belong?

A)applying means-end analysis
C)forming subgoals
B)adding numbers
D)using analogy

Question 31

Strategies such as using means/end analysis, forming subgoals, and using analogy are called

A)domain-specific strategies.
C)heuristics.
B)algorithms.
D)comprehension strategies.

Question 32

Transfer of general methods, rather than specific solutions, is called

A)analogical transfer.
C)procedural transfer.
B)general transfer.
D)representational transfer.

Question 33

Which of the following is an algorithm?

A)analogy
C)working backward
B)rules of addition
D)creating diagrams

Question 34

Problem isomorphs are

A)problems with different content but the same solution.
B)problems with different content and different solutions.
C)problems with same content but different solutions.
D)problems with same content and same solutions.

Question 35

Forming subgoals is a useful heuristic because it

A)reduces the size of the search space.
C)encourages insight.
B)guarantees a successful solution.
D)helps overcome functional fixedness.

Question 36

Analogical transfer is to _____ as representational transfer is to _____.

A)format; solution
C)solution; model
B)solution; format
D)model; solution

Question 37

Carroll, Thomas, and Malhotra found that performance on a temporal design problem (manufacturing process) was

A)always inferior to performance on a spatial design problem (office layout).
B)always superior to performance on a spatial design problem.
C)inferior, unless people used a graphic representation.
D)superior, unless people used a graphic representation.

Question 38

The simulation model developed by Simon and Reed assumes that people benefited from a subgoal because they

A)switched sooner to a more efficient strategy.
B)were less likely to make a random move.
C)were less likely to make a backward move.
D)had a better memory for previously attempted moves.

Question 39

In Gick and Holyoak's (1980) study, people were more likely to solve the radiation problem by analogy

A)if they read and compared at least two examples of analogous problems.
B)if they read an analogous problem that included the hint that the solution might help for other problems.
C)if they created a convergence schema.
D)All these

Question 40

A similarity in the results of analogies and representational transfer problems is

A)once people solve one such problem, all similar problems are also easily solved.
B)people do not spontaneously generalize their solutions within either type of problem.
C)people solve these problems best by algorithms.
D)All of these

Question 41

Means-end analysis works by eliminating differences between the initial and goal state.

Question 42

Insight is the ability to think deeply about a problem.

Question 43

Why is there a need to classify problems based on the skills needed to solve them? Give specific examples.

Question 44

What are heuristics? Describe how they can be used.

Question 45

Describe the three types of problems according to Greeno (1978). Create new examples (not ones given in your text) of each problem type.

Question 46

_____ Algorithms are rules that, if followed, always yield a solution.

Question 47

There are those who would say that we have not learned anything by studying how a computer solves problems. Do you agree with this statement? Explain your position fully.

Question 48

Which heuristic(s) do you use to solve problems? Provide an example of how you have used it.

Question 49

An example of an inducing-structure problem is the candle problem discussed in the text.

Question 50

Knowledge of subgoals is valuable in problem-solving because it reduces the size of the search space.

Question 51

In what ways are solving problems by analogy and solving problems by representational transfer similar?

Question 52

The problem space is the location in which the subject is situated.

Question 53

Functional fixedness is when you only see the typical use for an object.

Question 54

Discuss Newell and Simon's contributions to our understanding of problem solving.

Question 55

Heuristics are strategies for solving problems that always yield the best results.

Question 56

Anagrams are an example of an arrangement problem.

Question 57

Do you agree more with the concept that we have a general problem-solving skill or with the concept that we have multiple problem-solving skills? Why did you select this position?

Question 58

Explain the difference between a spatial version and a temporal version of a problem isomorph. Which one would best help you solve problems? Why?

Question 59

In what ways were the problems discussed in this chapter similar to those you would encounter in the real world? In what ways were they different?

Question 60

Analogies are an example of a transformation problem.