Obstacles to Problem Solving - media.lanecc.edu · Barriers to solving problems and creativity Mental representation and restructuring Sometimes, how you solve a problem is how you

LP 7B Problem solving 1 03/30/20

Problem Solving Problem solving: Thinking and behavior directed at toward attaining a goal that is not readily available (page 256). Problem solving strategies described in your textbook:

• Trial and error • Algorithms • Heuristics

• Organization of subgoals or smaller steps • Working backwards from your goal

• Insight and Intuition Obstacles to Problem Solving

• Functional Fixedness • Mental Sets • Change the representation of the problem (not covered in your textbook)

Good problem solvers know what strategies are effective AND problems that occur when solving problems.



Problem Solving Before we can solve a problem, we need to first identify the problem and frame or represent the problem. In the following examples, the users of the technology noticed problems in their practical implementation.

Tanks, Telephones and the Foot Soldier

During WWII, the way you got a tank to fire at a target would to bang the butt of your rifle on the tank to get the tank commander’s attention. He might pop his head out if it was safe. When he did, you would shout to the commander where you wanted him to fire. He might not hear you and you would have to repeat it, and he would look to see where you wanted him to fire. Now this doesn’t seem to bad, but all this time, your enemy (the Germans or Italians) sees the tank commander and start shooting at him. One way they solved this problem is to put telephones on the back of tanks so that soldiers outside could communicate with the tank commander. Where did this idea come from? The soldiers. None of the engineers thought of this, none of them noticed this problem, or the opportunity to solve the problem.


Allied Radar versus German Radar In his study of innovation during and immediately after WWII, J.F.O McAllister contrasted British and Nazi science efforts. “German war science was hierarchical and compartmentalized, discouraged free-wheeling interchange between scientists and soldier (the user). Hence while German radar was beautifully engineered, achieving signal stability “that was better than that of the best instruments that Britain had available”, the German method of displaying the aircraft position was awkward for air defense controllers to use. (From When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups, page 30). However, unlike the Americans, the German soldiers we unable to communicate the problem to those who could solve it. Organizational barriers made it less likely that this problem would get solved.


Rubbermaid with No Ideas?

When the Sundberg-Ferar product development firm was helping Rubbermaid develop a new walker for adults with limited mobility, they convened in nursing homes focus groups of people using walkers. “What could we do to improve your walkers?” The participants shook their heads. They liked their walkers as they were. Nope, they couldn’t suggest any improvements if the walker could be redesigned from scratch. The researchers gave up and excused the group members.

Only when the respondents got up and retrieved their walkers to exit the room did the researchers find that one woman had tied a bicycle basket to her walker with shoe strings; a man had fashioned a holder for his cordless phone out of duct tape; another had hung an aftermarket automotive cupholder on his walker! These observations led Sundberg-Ferar to design a build-in flexible mesh pouch for walkers, providing what Rubbermaid called a CCA, a compelling competitive advantage. (From When Sparks Fly Igniting Creativity in Groups, page 85, 86)

Solving problems require us to observe the world around us.


Trial and error

A problem-solving strategy that involves attempting different solutions and eliminating those that do not work. Trial and error strategies can lead to superstitious behavior or heuristical thinking through accidental or coincidental reinforcement (see Chapter 6). Examples:

• If this keystroke doesn't make the computer work, the next one might... • Thomas Edison tried thousands of filaments for a light bulb before finding

one that was appropriate. • If you forgot where your friend lives, you can randomly try a variety of streets

to see if you can find it. • The cats in Thorndike’s Puzzle Box • Figuring out which actor would make a good Tony Stark

Drug treatments, public policies, oil drilling, crime prevention, making a TV show, running a Presidential campaign, and launching a space shuttle would be bad trial and error decisions.

What are the advantages of the trial and error strategy? What are the disadvantages of the trial and error strategy?


Algorithms A problem-solving strategy that involves following a specific rule, procedure or method that inevitably produces the correct solution. Examples:

• Trying all possible combinations on a combination lock to unlock it. • Trying all keys on your key chain to unlock the door. • Trying to find your friends house, except for instead of just driving around

hoping you are going to find it, you go up and down each street in a systematic manner.

• What are the advantages of the algorithm strategy? • What are the disadvantages of the algorithm strategy?


Heuristics

A problem-solving strategy that involves following a general rule of thumb to reduce the number of possible solutions.

Like trial and error, you can get accidentally reinforced for coming up with

the solution. When this occurs, it is likely that you repeat this strategy (remember Thorndike, the law of effect, cats in puzzle boxes). Examples:

• Sub-goals or smaller steps • Break a large problem into smaller ones (identify

reinforcement/punishment first, then positive/negative). • Write a “to do list”

• Means-Ends Analysis • Working backwards to solve a maze.

• If you are trying to remember a person’s name, you can go through each letter of the alphabet as a retrieval cue. Does it start with an A, B, C….

• Looking in the manual when a game, VCR, car doesn’t work like it is suppose to.

• What works in the past might work now.


• What are the advantages of using heuristics to solve problems? • What are the disadvantages of using heuristics to solve problems?


Insight

A sudden realization or intuition on how to solve a problem. Different representations can lead to different insights. Prior experiences in solving similar problems increases the likelihood that you will be able to solve a particular class of problems.

People with expertise in a topic are better at insight and trial and error problem solving strategies Examples:

• The circle problem.


• An unsuccessful attempt to sell a car called the Nova in Spanish speaking country (this is actually an urban legend).

• Discovering a strategy to remember the following sequence of 20 numbers • 1 7 7 6 1 8 1 2 1 8 6 1 1 9 1 4 1 9 4 2.

• The murder problem (mail carrier, judge and soldier). • Using insight to reorganize information into groups (see previous chapter on

memory) • The inspiration for one of the first computers (called a tabulator) for the 1890

census came from the Jacquard loom. � The inspiration for velcro (velvet crochet) came from nature (a cocklebur).

“People have been removing burs since we were wearing saber-toothed tiger pelts, and no one else had thought to make a virtue (and millions of dollars) out of how tenaciously the burs cling”, (page 77, When Sparks Fly).

� A melted candy bar led to the invention of the microwave.


� Fischer-Price and “action-heroes”. The action hero toy is a lucrative market, however, Fischer-Price has a strong prohibition to create violent toys. How could they pursue this important market without creating a “shoot-‘em-up Rambo style toy (such as G.I. Joe, X-men, Star Wars, etc.)? How can you solve this problem?

• What are the advantages of insight as a problem solving strategy? • What are the disadvantages of insight as a problem solving strategy?


Barriers to solving problems and creativity

Mental representation and restructuring

Sometimes, how you solve a problem is how you mentally represent it or frame the problem. Certain frames can make it easier, or more difficult to see “a solution”.

Restructuring is a new way of thinking about a problem that aides its solutions.

Functional fixedness

The tendency to view objects as functioning only in their usual or customary way.

Mental sets Problem solving strategies that have worked in the past. This can keep you from noticing problems, novel ways of approaching it, or looking at the problem from a different perspective.

Selective exposure

The tendency to selectively associate with people who are similar to you.

Normative influence

The desire to be accepted by the group makes it difficult to express different ideas. A norm needs to be established that constructive disagreement is acceptable to spark creativity.


Framing or Mental Representation of the Problem Train A leaves Baltimore for its 50 mile trip to Washington D.C. at a constant speed of 25 mph. At the same time, train B leaves Washington D.C. bound for Baltimore at the same speed of 25 mph.

A crow that happened on a methamphetamine lab and sampled its product leaves Baltimore at the same time as train A, flying above the tracks toward Washington D.C. at a speed of 60 mph. When the crow encounters train B, it turns and flies toward train A, then instantly reverses its direction and flies back to train B. This supercharged bird continues this sequence until Train A and Train B meet midway between Baltimore and Washington D.C.

How far has the crow flown?


Drawing a picture helps visualize what is going on. In physics we tell students to sketch a picture.


Mental Representations: Barriers for Insight

Horse problem A man bought a horse for $60 and sold it for $70. Then he bought the same horse for $80 and sold it again for $90.

• Write down how much money was made in both transactions combined.


Mental Representations: Barriers for Insight

Horse problem If you try to do this in your head without writing things down, it makes it more challenging due to the limits of working memory. When you tax your limits of working memory, you are relying on a lot of mental shortcuts and intuition A man bought a horse for $60 and sold it for $70. Then he bought the same horse for $80 and sold it again for $90.

• Write down how much money was made in both transactions combined. Bought: Horse for $60 Sold: Horse for $70 Bought: Same Horse for $80 Sold: Same Horse for $90


Techniques to solve the problem: � Carry out a simulation with money to see what the actual results are. � Add up the total amount of money paid out and compare it with the total

amount of money paid in. � Change the mental representation of the problem (see below).

The method you use should all lead to the same answer. When in doubt about an answer to a problem, try different techniques. If they come to different answers, there is a problem with one of your methods that need to be examined.

A man bought a horse for $60 and sold it for $70. Then he bought firewood for $80 and sold it for $90. How much money did he make in both transactions combined?


Hotel Problem

A hotel detective was making his rounds through the corridors of the hotel. As he passed by a room, he heard a voice behind the closed door. The voice yelled, "Don't shoot John!" Immediately afterwards, the detective heard a gun discharge. He immediately broke into the room and encountered the following scene.

A dead woman was lying on the floor. Next to her was a gun. Three people were standing around her. They were a judge, a soldier, and a mail carrier. The detective immediately arrested the mail carrier for murder.

Based on the information provided, how did the hotel detective know to arrest the mail carrier? If you know the answer, raise your hand, and I will tally how many people know the answer. DO NOT reveal how you know the answer. We may need to create a visual representation to help solve the problem. How does the representation affect your ability to solve the problem?


The Hotel Problem A hotel detective was making his rounds through the corridors of the hotel.

As he passed by a room, he heard a voice behind the closed door. The voice yelled, "Don't shoot John!" Immediately afterwards, the detective heard a gun discharge. He immediately broke into the room and encountered the following scene.

A dead woman was lying on the floor. Next to her was a gun. Three people were standing around her. They were a judge, a soldier, and a mail carrier. The detective immediately arrested the mail carrier for murder.

Based on the information provided, how did the hotel detective know to arrest the mail carrier?

How does the representation affect your ability to solve the problem?


If you don’t understand how you are being influenced, you are going to take the wrong action to address the problem and fall for the same trick when it shows up in a different form.


Mental Sets The tendency to persist in solving a problem with solutions that have worked in the past (also see heuristics).

B - A - C - C = 127 - 21 - 3 - 3 = 100 B - A - C - C = 48 - 18 - 11 - 11 = 8 B - A - C - C = 80 - 10 - 4 - 4 = 62 B - A - C - C = 59 - 20 - 4 - 4 = 8 B - A - C - C = 57 - 20 - 4 - 4 = 29 B - A - C - C = 49 - 23 - 3 - 3 = 20 B - A - C - C = 76 - 28 - 3 - 3 = 25


Other Examples • “Oil change service”: How have they changed in the last 30 years? • Raising Arizona with Nicholas Cage and Holly Hunt • “When something breaks, throw it away and buy a new one versus fixing it” • Rubbermaid with “No Ideas”: I list this example under noticing the problem

as well as under mental sets. Why?


Mental Sets Mental Sets is the tendency to solve problems with the strategies that have been used in the past. Overcoming mental sets can come up with creative solutions such as with reverse graffiti. Instead of spraying paint to create art, you clean dirty surfaces to create art.







Functional Fixedness Functional fixedness The tendency to view objects as functioning only in their

usual or customary way.

Figure 7.3, page 259: How can you use these objects—a box of matches, thumbtacks, and a candle—to mount the candle on the wall so that it illuminates the room. Other examples of Functional Fixedness from your textbook:


Examples of Overcoming Functional Fixedness

• In high school I stayed at a friends house the night before a class trip. Our bus left very early in the morning and we were running late. It was time to go and she still had wet hair. She said, "No problem, I'll dry it in the car." I didn't understand but rushed around to get ready. Once in the car, she turned the heater on high and dried her hair as I drove us to catch the bus. I would have never thought of using the car heater as a hair dryer.

• I bought frozen orange juice. When I got home, Nicole told me we didn't have a pitcher to put it in. I simply went over and grabbed an empty 2 liter bottle from ginger ale and used that.

• Have you ever spent a lot of time looking for a flat-headed screwdriver when a dime would have worked just as well?

• I have a kitchen hammer that I saw kitchen chefs use to crush garlic with (observational learning). However, it is packed away somewhere, and I don’t want to take the effort to go find it. Instead, I take a can of chili (the glass jars are too risky) and use it to crush the garlic.

• When a friend was overseas on a tour group, he needed some thread to fix his backpack. How about dental floss instead?


• An archaeological team went into the desert (Gobi?) in China looking for fossils. Several hundred miles into the remote desert, a gasket in one of their vehicles needed replacing. Unfortunately, the nearest shop was hundreds of miles away and they didn’t have a spare.

• Large size “binder clips” are used to hold large stacks of papers. What else can they be used for?

• Richard Dean Anderson often displayed overcoming functional fixedness as the star of the television show


• In the movie __________, Tom Hanks was shipwrecked with several items that appeared to be useless, but later found a use for them.


Overcoming Functional Fixedness






Action-Heroes and Fischer-Price Consider the following dilemma at Mattel’s Fisher-Price division. The action figure market for little boys is a big one—and Fisher-Price is in the toy business (among others). But the company values, reflecting a dedication to pleasing primary purchaser Mom as well as child, include a strong prohibition against violent toys. So how could they pursue this important market segment without producing shoot-’em-up Rambo figures? Marilyn Wilson-Hadid, vice president of marketing (the dominant function at Fisher-Price), and Peter Pook, vice president of product development, argued long and hard. Pook insisted that the action figure market segment was critical. Wilson-Hadid steadfastly maintained that no Fisher-Price toy could present violence in a favorable light. Every product concept Pook offered, Wilson-Hadid countered with: “How are we going to talk to the mothers about this?” For those of you without children or haven’t had the benefit of playing with these toys, how do you think they could have resolve the problem?


Possible option: Options included ideas such as “equip-men” with super power tools that were a kind of “un-gun,” but would appeal to the same desire for combat as action figures, with their oversized weapons.

The final positioning? Rescue Heroes— “cool guys that are good guys”:

Billy Blazes, Fire Fighter; Rocky Canyon, Mountain Ranger; Gil Gripper, Scuba Diver; and Jack Hammer, “Construction Expert.” Each figure is equipped with a special tool that does something dramatic when a trigger is pulled, pushed, or released. The policeman has a noisy bullhorn and siren, the (female) Fire Fighter has a chopping axe, the Scuba Diver has a clamp, and the Construction Expert has a jackhammer. The toys have been a huge success because they please both little boys’ desire for action and Mom’s preference that it be more positive than violence against others. In fact (somewhat to the surprise of the designers), children are observed to engage in “helpful behavior,” such as using the toys to “rescue” other figures in imaginary straits. The product thus protects what Fisher-Price teams value as a distinctive advantage: the “Mom benefit.” (From When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups, page 105)


Insight: Velcro Sometimes solving a problem requires insight, looking at the problem in a

different way (reframing the problem), or reframing the question. The inspiration for velcro (velvet crochet) came from nature (a cocklebur). “People have been removing burs since we were wearing saber-toothed tiger pelts, and no one else had thought to make a virtue (and millions of dollars) out of how tenaciously the burs cling”.


Applying Psychological Science Guidelines for Creative Problem Solving

What do psychologists know about creative problem solving? Creative problem solvers not only use traditional problem solving strategies, but are able to think divergently (the generation of novel ideas that depart from the norm).

• They are knowledgeable about the topic • This means being able to apply concepts or propositions from one domain in

a manner that produces new insight. • This also means refusing to be constrained by traditional approaches to

solve problems.



Creativity, Innovation and Problem Solving

Would you consider the following people to be creative and innovative when they invented the respective technologies (see Connections I video series)? � Thomas Edison (light bulb, phonograph) � James Watt (steam engine) � Alexander Graham Bell (telephone) � Johan Gutenberg (printing press) � Henry Ford (automobile production line)

Some people consider inventors to be creative and innovative. However, many of these inventors built their work on of others—combined different ideas in a new way. They applied what they knew to a new situation. Which of the following inventions were considered “worthless” at the time they were introduced to the public?

• Color television • Submarine • Microwave oven • Typewriter • Telephone


• Xerox machine Being creative requires persistence and having a lot of ideas. When we a creative idea, we don’t realize all of the non-creative ideas, making it difficult to see the creative process.


Xerox, Paper Jams and Anthropologists

How about mixing anthropologists in with computer scientists? Introducing social scientists into a laboratory of “hard science” where physics and mathematics have traditionally ruled is not an intuitive way to encourage creativity. However, observations by anthropologists have deeply affected the design of copier machines. The traditional inclination of Xerox engineers was to make the machines “idiot-proof”, that is, to try to anticipate everything that could possibly go wrong and design such problems out of the system. The anthropological approach was to observe and deeply understand the interaction of people with the machine, beyond ergonomic factors. The anthropologists filmed a couple of leading computer scientists trying to use a new machine to do their copying. The footage of some very smart people becoming increasingly frustrated led to an important insight. Some trouble in using the machines was inevitable because of the increasing scope of tasks covered. The solution was to help users manage troubleshooting through customized instructions in the display panel, linked to particular procedures, and visuals depicting the location of the problem. Clearing paper jams now took 20 seconds, compared to 28 minutes before the redesign. (From When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups, page 25, 26).


Normative influence and institutional barriers

When Sparks Fly: Igniting Creativity in Groups “Surprise me,” the CEO said to John, who had just assumed the newly created title of Director of Business Development. “You can hire six new people. Get some young blood in here and find us some new products—ones we can bring to market in, say three or four years. Let’s see what possibilities a creative group of people can identify in eighteen months.” John was thrilled; what an opportunity at age thirty-four! He recruited three of the best financially minded, calculator-wielding MBAs he could find and set them to work sifting through the hundreds of possibilities in the research pipeline. With three job openings left, he pawed through dozens of impressive resumes before selecting three highly qualified young engineers. Eighteen months passed in a whirl of financial and technical analyses. To John’s delight, the group members worked well together and became good friends. However, at the end, John was the one surprised—and out of a job. The group had rejected every idea in the pipeline on the basis of either financial or technical unfeasibility; they had identified not a single new idea worth pursuing. As John moved on to a different company, he was baffled: How could such a smart, well-qualified bunch of people have failed? (Source: From When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups, page19)


Why couldn’t John’s team of highly qualified engineers and MBAs come up with any new ideas?


Chapter 3: When Sparks Fly

Generating Creative Options

“I don’t need to tell you how important this distance learning contract is,” said Hazel as she opened the meeting. “If we get to design the ad campaign, we’ll have a whole new line of business. That’s why I’ve put our very best people on this team—including Fred from Sales and Tom—even though he’s moved to our financial services account. I know some of you were a bit surprised at my bringing them in, but we needed a variety of backgrounds and knowledge to be creative. I was really pleased with yesterday’s brainstorming session—we came up with a lot of cool ideas. Given our schedule and resource constraints, I’ve gone ahead and selected one to work on. The parody of university professors concept was funny—but I don’t think we know enough about university teaching to pull it off. And I liked the notion of outreach to kids in developing nations, but we could offend some people with that one. So I suggest we go with the puppy training idea. If your dog can be trained to sit up and beg through the Internet, then for sure your kids can be taught calculus the same way. People like animals in ads; it won’t offend anyone; we can make it funny and it’s a low budget approach. I’ve divided you up into three subgroups; each group needs to get going on slogans, storyboards, budgets. We’ll get together next Friday to see


what you’ve come up with and select the best treatment. Any questions? No? Okay, let’s move.

From When Sparks Fly, Igniting Creativity in Groups

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Obstacles to Problem Solving - media.lanecc.edu · Barriers to solving problems and creativity Mental representation and restructuring Sometimes, how you solve a problem is how you