Upload
william-hoover
View
214
Download
1
Tags:
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
WHS AP Psychology
Unit 6: Cognition
Essential Task 6-2: Identify problem-solving techniques (algorithms and heuristics) as well as factors that influence their effectiveness (problem representation, mental set and functional fixedness).
We are here
Unit 6:
CognitionUnit 6:
Cognition
Problem Solving
Techniques
Problem Solving
Techniques
Decision Making
Techniques
Decision Making
Techniques
Acquisition and use of Language
Acquisition and use of Language
HeuristicsAlgorithms Compensatory Models
Biological Factors
Cognitive Factors
Representativeness Heuristic
Availability Heuristic
Cultural Factors
MemoryMemory
Obstacles to Decision Making
Obstacles to Problem Solving
Information Processing
Model
StorageEncoding Retrieval
Essential Task 6-2: • Problem Solving Steps• Identify problem-solving techniques:
– algorithms – Heuristics
• Hill climbing • Sub-Goals• Working backwards• Means end analysis
• Factors that influence their effectiveness – problem representation– mental set– functional fixedness– motivation
Outline
4 Problem Solving Steps
1. Define the Problem2. Use that definition to decide what
category a problem belongs to and then based on that
3. Select a solution strategy that would solve a problem in that category
4. Always evaluate progress toward goal
Possible Solution Strategies
• Trial and error– Works best with limited number of choices
• Information retrieval– Retrieve from memory information about how such a problem has
been solved in the past• Algorithms
– Step-by-step methods that guarantees a solution– Methodical, logical rules or procedures that guarantee solving a
particular problem.– Math problems are an example of the type best solved using an
algorithm• Heuristics
– Rules of thumb that may help simplify a problem, but do not guarantee a solution.
– They are quicker than algorithms
Algorithms
Algorithms, which are very time consuming, exhaust all possibilities before arriving at a
solution. Computers use algorithms.
S P L O Y O C H Y G
If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word using an algorithmic approach, we would face
907,208 possibilities.
Heuristics
• In psychology, heuristics are simple, efficient rules, learned from experience, that people use to make decisions, come to judgments, and solve problems typically when facing complex problems or incomplete information.
Heuristics
Heuristics make it easier for us to use simple principles to arrive at solutions to problems.
S P L O Y O C H Y GS P L O Y O C H G YP S L O Y O C H G YP S Y C H O L O G Y
Heuristic at work: Y’s usually go at the end of a word.
Heuristic Methods
• Hill climbing– Move progressively closer
to goal without moving backward
• Sub-goals– Break large problem into
smaller, more manageable ones, each of which is easier to solve than the whole problem
• Means-end analysis– Aims to reduce the
discrepancy between the current situation and the desired goal – subgoals not immediately in the solution direction are considered
• Working backward– Work backward from the
desired goal to the existing condition
Hill Climbing Heuristic
• Move progressively closer to goal without moving backward
Sub-goals
• Break large problem into smaller, more manageable ones, each of which is easier to solve than the whole problem
Means-end analysis
• Aims to reduce the discrepancy between the current situation and the desired goal – subgoals not immediately in the solution direction are considered
Working backward
• Work backward from the desired goal to the existing condition
Obstacles to Solving Problems
• Motivation– Desire to solve a problem
• Mental sets– Tendency to perceive and approach
problems in certain ways• Functional fixedness
– Tendency to see only a limited number of uses for an object
Motivation
• If you don’t attempt to solve a problem you won’t.
Mental Set
• “We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein
Functional Fixedness
• “I can only use it for this one thing!”