PSY 341 Lecture Notes - Lecture 19: Sight-Reading, List Of Locations In The Honorverse, Functional Fixedness
5/3/18
Factors Influencing Problem Solving
• Characteristics of Problem Solvers
• Expertise
• Skill maintenance and transfer
•Mental sets
•Characteristics of Problems
•Functional fixedness
•Problem defintion
• Need for insight
• Different variants w/r/y approaching problems in rigid ways
• Blocking of optimal problem solving
Characteristics of Problem Solvers: Expertise
Difference
Experts
Novices
1. Memory
Rich, well-organized Long-Term
memory structures (eg. Chess)
Have fewer and less organized
memory structures to draw on to
solve problems
2. Knowledge base for Classification
Can call upon knowledge to classify
problems & choose appropriate
algorithms
Insufficient knowledge for correctly
classifying problems
Evidence - Concept sorting: Training in identifying problem categories helps undergrad problem solving in
algebra and physics word problems e.g. d-t*r
3. Problem Representation
A. Use abstract representation like
force, momentum
B. b. Choose more useful starting
points for solution
A. Analogize problem parts to real
world objects (eg, pulleys,
levers, blocks)
B. b. Means-end reduction strategy
Evidence - concept sorting: Difference in strategy selection. Experts mere likely to start out in more useful
direction (sight reading tempos); Novices use means-end reduction.
4. Attention to Structural Similarity
Appreciate structural similarities
Distracted by surface similarities in
problems (eg. Levers, pullets,
trains)
Example - Pianist learn fingering for seals; novice pianist may not realize applicability of fingering patterns to
anything bout scales
Evidence - Experts sight readers look through whole score before choosing an initial tempo and key; novice sight
readers do not
6. Speed & Efficiency
As a consequence of differences 1-5, Experts faster/
more accurate at solving problems within their domain
of expertise
5. Initial State Elaboration
Likely to notice relevant info about
initial state/sec constraints
Te n d n o t t o l o o k f o r i n f o r e l e v a n t
to intitial states/constraints
7. Meta-Cognitive Skills
Experts better at monitoring their own problem solving
• Can judge difficulty of problem
•More aware of when they make errors
• More skilled in allocating time appropriately for
problem solving
Evidence - Experts anagram solvers take less than 2 seconds for answer to pop out at them
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Different variants w/r/y approaching problems in rigid ways. Have fewer and less organized memory structures to draw on to solve problems. Insufficient knowledge for correctly classifying problems: knowledge base for classification can call upon knowledge to classify problems & choose appropriate algorithms. Evidence - concept sorting: training in identifying problem categories helps undergrad problem solving in algebra and physics word problems e. g. d-t*r: problem representation, use abstract representation like, analogize problem parts to real force, momentum, b. Choose more useful starting world objects (eg, pulleys, levers, blocks) points for solution: b. means-end reduction strategy. Evidence - concept sorting: difference in strategy selection. Experts mere likely to start out in more useful direction (sight reading tempos); novices use means-end reduction: initial state elaboration. Likely to notice relevant info about initial state/sec constraints. Tend not to look for info relevant to intitial states/constraints.
