PSYC 305 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Kurt Koffka, Problem Solving, Max Wertheimer
Chapter 12 Problem Solving
Executive function- goal directed behavior
Problem solving
• Is part of thinking
• Occurs if an organism or artificial intelligence system does not know how to proceed
from a given state to desired goal state
Problem Solving paradigms
• Problem presented
• Solution not immediately obvious
• Identify steps
• “s iitial udestadig
• Steps to lead to final solution
• (Sometimes) decision that problem has been solved
Problem Solving vs. Other Cognitive Domains
• Memory, attention
• Short span of time
• Rt
• Accuracy
• More precise
• Problem Solving
• Lengthy behavior
• Veal potool: aalsis of ss ealizatio to sole pole
• Less precise
History (e.g., Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, Wolfgang Kohler)
• Gestalt 9s though eal 7s
• Simple novel tasks:
• Clearly defined solutions, relatively short time frame, problem solving steps could be
traced
• Dukes X-ray problem
• Tower of Hanoi
• Dukes 95 ‘adiatio Pole
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Suppose you are a doctor faced with a patient who has a malignant tumor in his
stomach. It is impossible to operate of the patient, but unless the tumor is destroyed
the patient will die. There is a kind of ray that can be used to destroy the tumor. If the
rays reach the tumor all at once at a sufficiently high intensity, the tumor will be
destroyed. Unfortunately, at this intensity the healthy tissue that the rays pass through
on the way to the tumor will also be destroyed. At lower intensities, the rays are
harmless to healthy tissue, but they will not affect the tumor, either. What type of
procedure might be used to destroy the tumor with the rays and at the same time avoid
destroying the healthy tissue?
Eal 97s ad eod
• La tests dot geealize to oe ople, eal-life problems
• Problem solving in natural real world domains
• Chess, reading, physics
• Complex computerized systems (many variables)
9s to 95s
• Gestalt—deals ith holes
• Wolfgang Kohler
• Animal perception—observed relations among stimuli sign of intelligence
• Insight learning
• Sultan and 2 poles
• Sultan and insight
• History and Gestalt
• Two barriers to problem solving
• Functional fixedness—tendency to use objects and concepts in only their usual way, use
object for a different function other than what it is assigned for
• Two string-problem (Maier, 1931)
• Candle problem (Duncker, 1945)
• Negative set—tendency to solve problems in one particular way, even though there
might be a short cut
• Water jug problem (Luchins, 1942)
• Two-string problem (Maier, 1931)
• Two strings are suspended from the ceiling, and the goal is to tie them together.
• Strings are too far apart for a person to hold one, reach the other and tie together
• Other available objects:
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• a chair
• some paper
• a pair of pliers
• Two string problem
• After 10 minutes, 39 % of subjects had solved problem
• Water jug problem
• Three jugs, each of different capacity
• Asked to measure out a desired quantity of water using just the three jugs
• e.g., measure 28 cups using containers that hold 5, 40 and 18 cups (jugs A, B, and C)
• Subjects who solved problems 1 through 7 in succession used a lengthier method to
solve problems 6 through 10 than those who only saw problems 6 through 10
• Longer method: 80% vs. 1%
• though 7 sujets had deeloped a set o appoah
• Insight
• Deep, useful understanding of the nature of something
• Eureka (heuristic—to find)
• Does insight arrive suddenly?
• Sample Insight Problems
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Document Summary
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