Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Chapter 11:
Problem-Solving and
Creativity
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Some Questions of Interest
• What are some key steps involved in solving
•
•
•
•
problems?
What are the differences between problems
that have a clear path to a solution versus
problems that do not?
What are some of the obstacles and aids to
problem-solving?
How does expertise affect problem-solving?
What is creativity, and how can it be
fostered?
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Problem-Solving Cycle
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Problem Representation
• what information is relevant and what is
irrelevant
– People pay attention to the wrong
information
– People need to focus on the right
information
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Strategy Formation
• Select a strategy to solve the problem
– Analysis: Breaking into subgoals
• EX: Study for exam subgoals
– Read textbook and class notes
– Identify most relevant topics
– Create study questions and answers on note
cards
– Learn all concepts on note cards
– Test self with note cards
– Recycle through learning and testing until
mastery is achieved
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Strategy Formation
Divergent thinking
– Generate multiple
solutions to problem
Convergent thinking
– Narrow down to best
answer
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Organization of Information
Organize to aid solution
Symbols
Matrixes
Diagrams
Let L = Lucy, S = Sean,
2L=3S, S=10
Mango Peach
Alex
Jarod
Henry
x
x
0
0
x
x
Steak
x
0
x
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Types of Problems
• Well-structured problems
– Clear path to the solution
• Math problems
• Anagrams
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
• Three hobbits and three orcs
come to a river and find a
boat that holds two
• If the orcs ever outnumber
the hobbits on either bank,
the hobbits will be eaten
How do you get them all to the
other side?
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Strategies to Solve Problems
• Algorithms
– Systematic procedure guaranteed to find a
solution
• Heuristics
– Useful rule of thumb based on experience
– Efficient but does not guarantee a correct
solution
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Heuristic: Means-End Analysis
• Compare your current state with the goal and
•
choose an action to bring you closer to the goal
Break a problem down into smaller subgoals
– EX: Win at Monopoly
– Start by buying properties, continue to buy until you get
a set, buy houses, then buy hotels, wait for others to
land on spaces, etc.
• May not work if subgoals cannot be identified
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Heuristic: Working Forward
• Start at initial state and work to goal
state
– EX: Math problems
– (2 + 6)/(4 x 1) = ?
– Complete the math inside parenthesis first,
then divide the quantities to get to solution
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Heuristic: Working Backward
• Figure out the last step needed to reach
your goal, then the next-to-the-last step,
and so on
– EX: You have lost your keys
– Try to remember the last time you used
them and work backward
• Work backward from goal state
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Heuristic: Generate and Test
• Trial-and-error strategy
• Create possibilities, test them, and discard the
ones that are incorrect
–
–
–
–
EX: Your car will not start
Wait a moment and try again, may be flooded
Check to see if there is gas, if no success
Check to see if the battery is charged… etc.
• This may not be the most efficient strategy
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Tower of Hanoi
Move all the discs from the left peg to the right one. Only one
disc may be moved at a time. A disc can be placed either on
an empty peg or on top of a larger disc. The goal is to move
all the discs using the smallest number of moves possible.
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Types of Problems
• Ill-structured problems
– Dimensions of problem are not specified or
easy to infer
• Finding an apartment
• Writing a book
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Gestaltist View of Insight
Sudden rearrangement of elements creates
“insight”
Apparent sudden solution to a problem some time
after the problem has been presented
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Non-Gestaltist View of Insight
Insight: A prisoner was
attempting escape from a
tower. He found in his cell a
rope that was almost long
enough to permit him to reach
the ground safely. He divided
the rope in half and tied the two
parts together and escaped.
Algebra: (3x2 + 2x = 10)(3x) = ?
Participants indicated how close they
were to solution every 15 seconds
1 being very cold to 7 being very warm
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Neuroscience and Insight
fMRI studies found
– right hippocampus is active during problemsolving
– another found spike in right anterior temporal lobe
just before insight
– neural correlates measured before an individual
sees a problem can predict if insight will occur
• Prior to viewing of a problem, participants who
had activation in the frontal lobes would later
generate an insightful solution
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Obstacles to Problem-Solving
• Mental set
• Functional fixedness
• Stereotypes
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Mental Set
• Seeing a problem in a particular way
instead of other plausible ways due to
experience or context
– May cause you to adopt an ineffective
strategy and prevents problem-solving
– May make assumptions without realizing it
– May find it hard to approach the problem in
a new way
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
How would you use 3 jars with the indicated capacities
to measure out the desired amount of water?
Problem
1
2
Jar A
29
21
Jar B
3
127
Jar C
2
3
Desired
20
100
3
4
5
6
14
18
9
20
163
43
42
59
25
10
6
4
99
5
21
31
7
8
9
23
15
28
49
39
76
3
3
3
20
18
25
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Functional Fixedness
• An inability to assign new functions and
roles to elements of a problem
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Transfer
• Negative transfer
– Solving prior problem makes it more
difficult to solve later problem
• Positive transfer
– Solving earlier problem helps to solve later
problem
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Gick & Holyoak (1980) Results
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Control
Analogy
Analogy & Hint
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Incubation
Time away from a problem provides new
insights or otherwise facilitates the
problem-solving process
– Release from a problem-solving set, or functional
fixedness
– Retrieval of new information by changing context
– Recovery from fatigue
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Neuroscience and Planning
during Problem-Solving
• Frontal lobe active in problem-solving
• Prefrontal cortex active in planning
• Greater bilateral prefrontal activation with
•
incorrect than correct responses
Both problem-solving and planning ability
decline following traumatic brain injury
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Intelligence and ProblemSolving
• Participants who score higher on
traditional intelligence tests
– take longer to encode the terms of the
problem (global planning)
– are faster at forming and implementing
strategies for the details of the task (local
planning)
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Expertise
• Not a general ability
• Experts have extensive knowledge that is
•
used to organize, represent, and interpret
information
Thus affecting their abilities to remember,
reason, and solve problems
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chess Experts
• Experts vs.
beginners
• Under what
condition did
the experts
remember
more?
Chapter 11
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Beer Experts??
– Beer experts
• Two-year beer training
program in France
– Beer novices
• No prior training
– Tasted a series of 8 different
beers
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Experts Differ from Novices
• Better schemas
• Well-organized knowledge in specific
•
•
•
•
domain
Less time to set up problem
Select more appropriate strategies
Faster at solving problems
Are more accurate
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Computer “experts”?
• The Turing test
– What questions would you ask?
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Creativity
•
Process of
creating
something that
is original and
worthwhile
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Test of creativity
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Improving creativity?
• What is a product or service that
needs to be improved?
– select 10 common nouns at random
from the dictionary
– task is to figure out ways to change
and improve the product/service
– use the 10 stimulus words to
stimulate thinking.
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Theories of creativity
• Psychometric view
– Emphasis is on the measure of the product
a person creates—creativity test scores
• The process approach
– Nothing innately special about people
– Hard work and dedication leads to
creativity
• Personality approach
– Way of looking at things
– Intrinsic motivation is important
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Environment Approach
• Csikszentmihalyi (1996)
– Must examine historical and social context
in which product is made
– When one achieves balance with context,
one achieves flow
– Flow is the enjoyment we experience when
we are engaged in mental and physical
challenges that absorb us
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
A Synthesis
Examined case studies of creative people
•
•
Albert Einstein (logical-mathematical)
Pablo Picasso (spatial)
T.S. Elliot (linguistic)
Mohandas Gandhi (interpersonal)
Most had strengths in more than one
intelligence and weaknesses in others
First become a master; then creativity is
possible
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
What is necessary for creativity?
Synthetic ability
To see problems using novel perspectives and
not be bound by conventional thinking
Analytic ability
To recognize the importance of ideas and focus
energy on those worth pursuing
Practical-contextual
To be able to convey and sell the importance of
the ideas to others
Cognitive Psychology, Sixth Edition, Robert J. Sternberg
Chapter 11
Neuroscience of Creativity
• Prefrontal regions are active
• Brodmann’s area 39 is active