Ch 11 problem solving and creativity pt 2

In problem solving, a method that always produces a problem solution (though not necessarily very efficiently) is known as

a. an algorithm.

b. a heuristic.

c. a matrix.

d. the hill-climbing heuristic.

a

Jane is given an anagram to solve: DFROJ In attempting to solve the anagram, Jane takes out a sheet of paper and methodically begins to write down every possible combination of these five letters: DFRJO, DFJOR, DFJRO, DFORJ, and so forth Jane's strategy would be described as

a. a heuristic.

b. means-end analysis.

c. an algorithm.

d. working backwards.

c

In problem solving, heuristics

a. are relatively unsophisticated strategies.

b. are bound to produce a solution, if you apply them rigorously.

c. are strategies that examine only some of the alternatives.

d. are seldom as useful as algorithms.

c

If you solve a problem by using the solution strategy from an earlier problem, which of the following problem-solving strategies are you using?

a. The General Problem Solver

b. Means-ends analysis

c. Analogy

d. Backward search

c

Research on problem isomorphs has demonstrated that

a. in general, novices are better than experts in identifying problem isomorphs.

b. problem solving often requires peeling away the superficial features of a problem, in order to discover problem isomorphs.

c. most problem solvers can easily detect problem isomorphs.

d. unsituated learning produces a greater number of correct solutions than does situated learning.

b

A major problem with using the analogy approach to problem solving is that

a. people pay too little attention to structural features.

b. people pay too little attention to surface features.

c. people select an inappropriate matrix to represent their understanding of the problem.

d. people perform an exhaustive search, which is a time-consuming approach to problem solving.

a

In order to understand a problem, you need to understand the underlying meaning. This basic core of a problem is called its

a. mental set.

b. goal state.

c. surface features.

d. structural features.

d

. When people try to solve problems, which feature of the problem should they emphasize the most?

a. Structural features

b. Surface features

c. Schematic features

d. Algorithms

a

Which of the following circumstances is most likely to encourage the successful use of analogies in problem solving?

a. Requiring people to use a mental set

b. Having people study the source problem very carefully, rather than simply trying to solve it

c. Having people try to solve several problems that are structurally similar, before they see the target problem

d. Encouraging people to compare at least two problems that have different structural features

c

People are especially likely to use analogies effectively in problem solving

a. when they are well trained in means-ends analysis.

b. when they have been trained to pay attention to structural similarities.

c. when they are working on an ill-defined problem.

d. when they are trying to solve a problem that is unrelated to other problems they have recently solved.

b

Suppose that several high school algebra teachers are trying to encourage their students to use analogies more appropriately when they try to solve word problems. The teachers should instruct students

a. to make an educated guess about the answer before trying to solve it.

b. to make a matrix that shows the surface similarities between a current problem and a previous problem.

c. to sort a number of problems into categories, based on structural similarities.

d. to use the hill-climbing heuristic.

c

In a means-ends analysis,

a. the matrix approach is most useful.

b. we disregard some aspects of the problem in order to make the problem simpler.

c. we solve a problem by emphasizing embodied cognition.

d. we divide the problem into a number of subproblems.

d

Suppose that you have an assignment to write a review of the literature on a topic in cognitive psychology. If you used means-ends analysis, you would begin by

a. breaking the problem into parts (e.g., select a topic, locate resources, etc.) and then solve each part.

b. creating a matrix consisting of possible problems and possible solutions.

c. searching systematically through all possible alternatives (e.g., all possible topics on perception, all possible topics on memory, etc.) until you have found a solution.

d. trying to think of occasions on which you faced a similar problem (e.g., writing a paper in a child development course) and use that information to help you solve the present problem.

a

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

a. the situated cognition approach.

b. the hill climbing heuristic.

c. the means-ends heuristic.

d. the analogy approach.

c

Research on means-ends analysis in problem solving has shown that

a. people tend to move through the various states in problem solving at a fairly steady rate.

b. most people realize that they often must move temporarily away from the goal in order to reach the correct problem solution.

c. most people are reluctant to move temporarily away from the goal in order to reach the correct problem solution.

d. the means-ends approach is roughly equivalent to the analogy approach.

c

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

a. using bottom-up processing.

b. dividing a problem into subproblems.

c. increasing the difference between the current state and the goal state.

d. using the means-ends approach to solve the problem.

c

In computer simulation, the computer is programmed

a. to perform a task the same way that a human would.

b. to perform a task that matches the minimum performance of a human problem solver.

c. to use algorithms, but not heuristics.

d. to solve a problem as efficiently as possible

a

The computer simulation called General Problem Solver

a. solves problems in the most efficient fashion possible.

b. solves problems using the analogy method.

c. solves problems using means-ends analysis.

d. alternates between forward searches and backward searches in problem solving.

c

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

a. You try to figure out what courses you'll take next semester by obtaining an overview of the initial state; this perspective is similar to the overview from the top of a hill.

b. You want to become a social worker, so at each choice point, you choose the option that appears to lead most directly toward your goal.

c. You divide the problem into an orderly series of "hills," each of which must be surmounted before you move forward.

d. You realize that you must sometimes move backwards (returning to a previous "hill"), in order to move forwards to a solution.

b

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

a. can only be used when you represent the problem in terms of visual imagery.

b. is one of the most sophisticated problem-solving heuristics.

c. is often used if you do not have information on how to reach your goal, so you select the best option at each choice point.

d. is especially helpful when a problem requires you to move backwards in order to eventually move forwards.

c

A major problem with the hill-climbing heuristic is that

a. people choose the most direct route at every choice point, even though an indirect route may be better in the long run.

b. people are inefficient in dividing the problem into the appropriate subproblems.

c. people typically show functional fixedness.

d. people are too likely to move backwards, rather than forwards.

a

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

a. mean-end analysis.

b. working backwords.

c. hill-climbing.

d. computer simulation

c

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

a. Lisa: "Experts are better at estimating how long it would take nonexperts to solve a problem."

b. Pernelle: "Experts are more likely to use a mental set."

c. Jack: "Experts are more likely to use their top-down processing effectively."

d. Sabino: "Experts are more likely to use serial processing."

c

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

a. Carrie: "Expert problem solvers tend to emphasize top-down processing because this framework provides the best overview of the problem."

b. María Elena: "Expert problem solvers use their knowledge (top-down processing), but they also attend to the unique features of the problem (bottom-up processing)."

c. Raoul: "The basic problem is that experts consistently overuse bottom-up processing, and they ignore top-down processing."

d. Herbie: "Experts make too much use of bottom-up processing; novices make too much use of top-down processing."

b

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

a. expertise is typically defined in terms of problem-solving speed, rather than problem-solving accuracy.

b. in some fields, expertise is not strongly correlated with the number of years of experience.

c. true experts can acquire their expertise without extensive practice because they truly seem to be "born" with their skills.

d. experts tend to have an especially well-developed working memory for general information, not just in their area of expertise.

b

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

a. General memory skills

b. Memory for concepts that are relevant to the problem

c. Schemas that are relevant to the problem

d. The representation of the problem

a

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

a. general knowledge and trivia.

b. random configurations of chess pieces on a board.

c. chess positions from actual chess games.

d. knowledge about the history of chess.

c

According to the research on expertise and problem solving,

a. expert chess-players are much better than novices at remembering random arrangements of chess pieces.

b. expert problem-solvers are more likely than novices to emphasize structural features in the representation of a problem.

c. experts and novices are similar in their usage of means-ends heuristics.

d. experts are skilled at judging whether a problem will be difficult for novices to solve.

b

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

a. novices use parallel processing more than experts do.

b. experts use parallel processing more than novices do.

c. when researchers have controlled for the kind of problem that is being solved, experts and novices make similar use of parallel processing.

d. both experts and novices make too much use of parallel processing.

b

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

a. the hill-climbing heuristic.

b. a mental set.

c. parallel processing.

d. divergent production.

b

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

a. parallel processing.

b. insight.

c. mental set.

d. problem isomorphs.

c