Thinking

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Thinking Problem Solving
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Studying Problem Solving

• Types of problems
• Well-defined problems
• Ill-defined problems

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Studying Problem Solving

• Methods
• Logic puzzles
• Introspection

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Classic Problems and Solutions

• Generate-and-test technique

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Classic Problems and Solutions

• Means-ends analysis

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Current State
Goal
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Classic Problems and Solutions

• Working backwards

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Classic Problems and Solutions

• Backtracking

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Classic Problems and Solutions

• Backtracking

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Classic Problems and Solutions

• Solving by analogy

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nine-dot problem six-matches problems
Blocks to Problem Solving

• Mental set

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Figure 10-6 (p. 370)Answers to the nine-dot and
the six-matches problems.
Blocks to Problem Solving

• Mental set

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String problem.
Blocks to Problem Solving

• Mental set
• Functional
• fixedness

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The mutilated checkerboard problem.
Blocks to Problem Solving

• Incomplete or incorrect representation

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A tic-tac-toe board representation of the
numbers game.
Blocks to Problem Solving

• Incomplete or incorrect representation

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Problem Solving

• Techniques for solving problems
• Lack of problem-specific expertise

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Problem Solving

• Techniques for solving problems
• Lack of problem-specific expertise
• Experts vs. novices
• Have more knowledge in that area
• Deeper level representation
• Check for errors more often

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Figure 10-10 A generic problem space.
The Problem Space Hypothesis
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The Problem Space Hypothesis
Path
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Figure 10-12 (p. 377)A part of the problem
space for the Towers of Hanoi problem, showing
the solution.
The Problem Space Hypothesis
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Expert Systems
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Creativity

• Unconscious processing/ incubation
• Everyday cognitions

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Critical Thinking