Deck 11: Problem Solving

Question 1

Researchers have found that people most often use _____ when problem-solving.

A) introspection
B) pencil and paper
C) apps
D) trial-and-error

Answer 1

introspection

Question 2

_____ is a common barrier to our ability to solve problems.

A) Typicality
B) Functional fixedness
C) A well-defined problem
D) An ill-defined problem

Answer 2

Functional fixedness

Question 3

While baking a cake, you say the steps out loud as you are carrying them out. This is an example of _____.

A) pathology
B) functional fixedness
C) retrospection
D) introspection

Answer 3

introspection

Question 4

While working in a lab, you encounter a problem with your experiment. You spend days trying to figure out what is wrong, and finally, it pops into your head that the temperature in the room is incorrect, causing fluctuations in your results. This is an example of _____.

A) trial-and-error
B) insight
C) introspection
D) recognition

Question 5

_____ is the process of developing a solution designed to change the state of affairs from the current state to the goal state:

A) Error monitoring
B) Problem solving
C) Searching
D) Cognitive tracing

Question 6

Gick and Holyoak's (1980) story involving a general and his army as compared to a surgeon and his patient with an inoperable tumor is an example of _____.

A) Analogical transfer
B) Functional fixedness
C) A mental set
D) Selective encoding

Question 7

_____ is focusing on how things are usually used, while ignoring other potential uses.

A) Functional fixedness
B) Functional fixedness.
C) Functional fixation
D) Functional use

Question 8

Consider the following scenario. You are at work, and the strap on your shoe breaks. You have to figure out a way to fix it; otherwise, you will not be able to walk properly with both shoes! You use a paperclip to hold the strap on. This example rejects the idea of _____.

A) Pathological behavior
B) Functional fixedness
C) Improper fixedness
D) Nonfunctional fixedness

Question 9

All of the following are processes proposed to underlie problem-solving EXCEPT:

A) selective encoding
B) selective introspection
C) selective combination
D) selective comparison

Question 10

Trial-and-error approaches work well when there are _____.

A) Many solutions
B) Several dangerous solutions
C) Several solutions
D) No solutions

Question 11

Imagine that you are writing a paper and are entering all of your references into your bibliography manually. You complete that paper and begin a new one. You start to, again, enter all of your references manually, even though your friend just told you about a great program that does all of that for you and allows you to reformat things within seconds. However, you insist on continuing with your old ways. This illustrates _____.

A) Functional fixedness
B) Selective encoding
C) Analogical transfer
D) A mental set

Question 12

_____ is a tendency to use the same set of solutions to solve similar problems, whereas _____ is using the same solution for two problems with the same underlying structure.

A) A mental set; analogical transfer
B) Functional fixedness; mental set
C) A mental set; functional fixedness
D) Analogical transfer; a mental set

Question 13

_____ are problems that have a clearly defined goal state and constraints, whereas _____ are problems that lack a clearly defined goal state and constraints.

A) Well-defined; ill-defined
B) Ill-defined; well-defined
C) Defined; undefined
D) Defined; non-defined

Question 14

What brain area seems to play a large role in problem-solving?

A) Temporal lobe
B) Frontal lobe
C) Parietal lobe
D) Occipital lobe

Question 15

Diana is trying to bake chocolate chip cookies from scratch. She has made several batches so far, but cannot figure out what ingredient she is missing. Finally, on her 5th batch, her cookies have come out perfectly. This process illustrates _____.

A) structuralism
B) trial-and-error
C) introspection
D) functional fixedness

Question 16

How we mentally represent a problem can _____ finding the solution.

A) help with
B) hinder
C) both help and hinder
D) neither help nor hinder

Question 17

A problem is:

A) when you are at a significant disadvantage.
B) when you cannot comprehend a situation.
C) a situation in which you cannot locate something you need.
D) a situation in which there is a difference between a current state and a desired goal state.

Question 18

A Sudoku puzzle is an example of a(n) _____.

A) ill-defined problem
B) well-defined problem
C) undefined problem
D) defined problem

Question 19

All of the following are examples of ill-defined problems EXCEPT:

A) Driving to the store
B) Buying soda
C) Getting dressed
D) Turning your car on

Question 20

Early theories of problem-solving focused primarily on _____.

A) functional fixedness
B) introspection
C) trial-and-error
D) systematic strategies

Question 21

Inductive reasoning is an application of a(n) _____.

A) algorithm
B) heuristic
C) mental set
D) insight

Question 22

There are neuropsychological differences between well- and ill-defined problems.

Question 23

Our ability to solve problems is constrained by our cognitive systems.

Question 24

Studies examining the eye movements of participants trying to solve math problems found that _____.

A) People are really bad at math
B) People use insight while solving math problems
C) People use introspection while working on math problems
D) People fixate on things that they are thinking about

Question 25

Getting dressed is an example of a well-defined problem.

Question 26

A prescribed problem-solving strategy that always leads to the correct solution in problems with a single correct solution is a(n) _____, while a problem-solving strategy that does not always lead to the correct solution is a(n) _____.

A) Heuristic; algorithm
B) Algorithm; heuristic

Question 27

All of the following are heuristic search processes EXCEPT:

A) Means-backward strategy
B) Means-ends strategy
C) Hill-climbing strategy
D) Working-backward strategy

Question 28

Ill-defined problems are those that lack a clearly defined goal state and constraints.

Question 29

Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory uses an established formula to solve a complex physics problem. This is an example of a(n) _____.

A) heuristic
B) algorithm
C) recipe
D) mental set

Question 30

Writing notes on your hand illustrates functional fixedness.

Question 31

IDEAL framework stands for:

A) Identify, Define, Explore, Anticipate, Look back
B) Identify, Distinguish, Explore, Anticipate, Look back
C) Identify, Define, Explore, Associate, Look back
D) Identify, Define, Explore, Anticipate, Learn

Question 32

In Gick and Holyoak's study (1980), what was the key to having participants solve the problem of how to help the patient with the inoperable tumor?

A) They had to be told that the stories were related
B) They had to watch a video that played out each scenario
C) They had to read each story multiple times
D) They had to read more about inoperable tumors

Question 33

One of the most persistent findings in the research on expertise is that:

A) Experts' advantages are limited to problems within their area of expertise
B) Experts are smarter than novices
C) Experts don't need to spend as much time analyzing things as novices
D) Experts don't notice as many details as novices do

Question 34

Gestalt psychologists were in favor of purely associationist theories of problem-solving.

Question 35

All of the processes involved in problem-solving are unconscious.

Question 36

Experts in a field mentally group aspects of problems together differently from the way novices do[ok or than do novices].

Question 37

All of the following are explanations for differences in problem solving between experts and novices EXCEPT:

A) Experts have longer fixations on critical aspects of the problem they are trying to solve
B) Experts mentally group aspects of problems together differently
C) Experts are smarter
D) Experts spend more time analyzing the problem

Question 38

Solving a crossword puzzle is an example of an ill-defined problem.

Question 39

Imagine you lost your keys. You begin searching all of the places you have gone to since losing your keys, starting with the last place and working your way towards the first place. This is an example of a means-ends strategy.

Question 40

_____ is a problem-solving strategy that involves repeated comparisons between the current state and the goal state.

A) Working-backward strategy
B) Hill-climbing strategy
C) Means-backward strategy
D) Means-ends strategy

Question 41

Define functional fixedness, and provide three examples.

Question 42

Discuss the ways in which experts differ from novices in terms of problem-solving. How can you become a better problem solver?

Question 43

Distinguish between well- and ill-defined problems. Give three examples of each.