Question 1

Suppose that you belong to an organization in which an average of only 8 out of 12 people attend meetings on a regular basis. Which of the following ideas best illustrates the way of overcoming a mental set when solving this problem of low attendance?

Accepted Answer

Encouraging everyone to think of new ways to solve the problem, avoiding previously tried solutions, is a method to overcome a mental set, which is a tendency to approach situations in a certain way because that method worked in the past. This option promotes innovative thinking and problem-solving.

Question 2

Research on the means-ends heuristic in problem solving has shown that

Accepted Answer

The means-ends heuristic in problem solving involves comparing the current state to the goal state and then doing something to reduce the difference between the two. Research has shown that most people are reluctant to move temporarily away from the goal, even if such a move could ultimately help them solve the problem more efficiently. This reluctance can sometimes hinder problem-solving processes.

Question 3

Which of the following students provides the best summary of the relationship between expertise and top-down/bottom-up processing?

Accepted Answer

María Elena accurately describes the relationship between expertise and processing approaches. Expert problem solvers utilize their prior knowledge (top-down processing) while also paying attention to specific details of a new problem (bottom-up processing), integrating both approaches effectively.

Question 4

According to the research on mental sets,

Accepted Answer

Mental set refers to the tendency to approach problems in a certain way because that method has worked in the past. However, this can limit creativity and lead to less optimal solutions, especially if individuals are influenced by examples before attempting to solve a problem on their own. This is because they may become fixated on those examples, hindering their ability to think of alternative solutions.

Question 5

Anita wants a high-paying career after college. After graduation, she must choose between a job with a moderate salary but a good chance for advancement, and a job with a much higher salary but less chance for long-term advancement. If Anita chooses the higher salary now, she is probably using the heuristic known as

Accepted Answer

Hill-climbing heuristic involves choosing the option that seems to lead to the immediate improvement or benefit, without necessarily considering long-term outcomes. In this case, Anita choosing the job with a higher salary for its immediate benefit aligns with the hill-climbing heuristic.

Question 6

In which of the following areas are expert problem-solvers and novice problem-solvers likely to be most similar?

Accepted Answer

General memory skills are not typically influenced by one's level of expertise in a specific problem-solving domain, meaning both expert and novice problem-solvers are likely to have similar capabilities in this area.

Question 7

The computer simulation called General Problem Solver

Accepted Answer

The General Problem Solver (GPS) is known for solving problems using means-ends analysis, a method where the current state is compared with the goal state, and actions are chosen to reduce the difference between them.

Question 8

Chapter 11 compared how-on some tasks-experts and novices use parallel processing. According to this discussion,

Accepted Answer

Experts use parallel processing more than novices do because their extensive knowledge and experience allow them to process multiple aspects of a problem simultaneously, leading to more efficient problem-solving.

Question 9

According to the discussion of problem-solving approaches, the hill-climbing heuristic

Accepted Answer

The hill-climbing heuristic involves choosing the option that seems to lead most directly towards the goal at each step, even when the overall path to the goal is not known. It does not require visual imagery, is not necessarily the most sophisticated approach, and does not specifically involve moving backwards to move forwards.

Question 10

When people are solving a problem such as the Elves and Goblins problem in your textbook, they generally avoid

Accepted Answer

People generally avoid increasing the difference between the current state and the goal state when solving problems, as the objective is typically to reduce this difference to reach a solution.

Question 11

Suppose that you belong to an organization that plans to sponsor a speaker for next semester. At the planning meeting, the group members begin by dividing the project into four components: choosing the speaker, making arrangements for the speaker's travel, fundraising, and publicity. This arrangement is closest to the problem-solving strategy called

Accepted Answer

The means-ends heuristic involves breaking down a problem into smaller, more manageable components or subproblems, which is what the group is doing by dividing the project into four components.

Question 12

Anatoly has been playing chess since early childhood, and is described as an expert player. His cousin Viktor has only recently begun to play the game, and describes himself as a novice. We would expect Anatoly to outperform Viktor on tests of his memory for

Accepted Answer

Anatoly's extensive experience and expertise in playing chess would likely give him a significant advantage in remembering chess positions from actual games, as this skill is directly related to understanding and analyzing game strategies, which improves with practice and experience.

Question 13

Suppose that you have always prepared a casserole in a certain fashion. Then you buy a food processor. It would be most efficient to prepare the ingredients in a new order, but you follow your old, familiar order. The strategy that you are using is

Accepted Answer

A mental set is a tendency to approach situations in a certain way because that method has worked in the past. In this scenario, continuing to prepare the casserole in the familiar order despite having a new tool that could make the process more efficient demonstrates reliance on a mental set.

Question 14

Which of the following is the best example of the hill-climbing heuristic?

Accepted Answer

The hill-climbing heuristic involves choosing the option that seems to lead most directly toward the goal at each decision point, similar to climbing toward the peak of a hill by always taking the upward path.

Question 15

In computer simulation, the computer is programmed

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is A because in computer simulation, the computer is programmed to perform a task the same way that a human would.

Question 16

According to the research on expertise and problem solving,

Accepted Answer

Experts in problem-solving tend to focus on the underlying structure of a problem rather than its surface features, which helps them recognize patterns and apply relevant knowledge more effectively.

Question 17

Suppose that you learned to make peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches by spreading peanut butter on one piece of bread, jelly on the other, and then placing the two pieces together. You are now making sandwiches for a crowd, and you use this same strategy. However, it would be more efficient to first spread peanut butter on half the pieces, and then spread jelly on the other half. Your inefficient problem solving illustrates the concept called

Accepted Answer

The concept of mental set refers to the tendency to approach problems in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past, even if there are more efficient methods available. In this scenario, sticking to the learned method of making peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches one at a time, instead of adapting to a more efficient bulk method, illustrates the influence of a mental set on problem-solving.

Question 18

A major problem with the hill-climbing heuristic is that

Accepted Answer

Hill-climbing heuristic involves selecting the option that seems to lead most directly towards the goal state at each decision point, without considering longer-term consequences or exploring less direct routes that might ultimately offer a better solution. This can lead to suboptimal choices if a more indirect route would have been more advantageous in the long run.

Question 19

Which of the following students provides the most accurate information about expertise during problem solving?

Accepted Answer

Experts are more adept at using top-down processing, which involves applying their extensive knowledge and experience to analyze and solve problems efficiently. This contrasts with novices, who might rely more on bottom-up processing, learning and building knowledge from scratch.

Question 20

According to the discussion of problem-solving expertise in Chapter 11,

Accepted Answer

In some fields, expertise is not strongly correlated with the number of years of experience, as expertise often involves the quality of practice and learning rather than just the duration.

Quiz 11: Problem Solving and Creativity