Chapter 10: Thinking and
Problem Solving
Olivia Sheridan, Deanna Fugate,
and Sarah Oberman
Classic Problems and General
Methods of Solution
• Five categories of problem solving
techniques
• Domain-independent
Problem Solving Techniques
1) Generate-and-Test Technique: Solver
comes up with multiple possible solutions to
an issue and “tests” them until one of them
works
2) Means-Ends Analysis: An individual wants
to get from their current state to a desired
state in the most effective way possible.
3) Working Backward: The solver takes the
reverse steps to get a final goal
Working Backward Activity
• An example: Sarah walked from taking
Chuck’s test to her dorm room. She
decided to make a pit stop on the way;
because of all the tears in her eyes it took
her 1 hour and 25 minutes to walk to
Johnny’s. Then it took 25 minutes to walk
from Johnny’s to her dorm. She arrived at
her dorm at 2:45 P.M. At what time did
she leave Chuck’s test?
Answer
• UNDERSTAND: You need to find what the time
was when Sarah left Chuck’s test.
• 2) PLAN: How can you solve the problem? You can
work backwards from the time Sarah reached the dorm
roon. Subtract the time it took to walk from Johnny’s to
her dorm. Then subtract the time it took to walk from
Chuck’s test to Johnny’s.
• 3) SOLVE: Start at 2:45. This is the time Sarah
reached her dorm. Subtract 25 minutes. This is the time
it took to get from Johnny’s to her dorm. Time is: 2:20
P.M. Subtract: 1 hour 25 minutes. This is the time it
took to get from Chuck’s test to Johnny’s. Sarah left
Chuck’s test at 12:55 P.M.
Problem Solving Techniques
continued…
4) Backtracking: Possible solutions are
listed and kept track of but can be changed
if proven to be incorrect.
5) Reasoning by Analogy: The solver uses
a comparison between a problem that has
already been answered and a current
problem
Blocks to Solving Problems
• Constraints on solving problems include
barriers that restrain one’s ability to think
logically and rationally.
• Sometimes blocks are so strong that they
interfere with one’s capacity to reach a
conclusion and actively solve tasks.
Mental Set
• Mental set is the tendency to see a
problem in only one way as opposed to
seeing it from multiple standpoints.
• Mental set often causes people to make
certain unwarranted assumptions without
being aware of making them.
• Class Examples: Nine-dot-problem, man
at home man in a mask, two-string problem
(functional fixedness).
•
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaI7N6J3rAc
Using Incomplete or Incorrect
Representations
• A separate difficulty in solving problems
has to do with the original interpretation
of the problem.
• The situation can result in failure if the
solver focuses on the wrong information or
if the problem is misunderstood.
• Class Example: checkerboard problem &
numbers game.
Expert Systems
• Problem space hypothesis created by
expert systems
• Computer based system created because
humans are limited, not experts
• Humans are biased, can become overwhelmed
• Inference rules- if- then
Finding Creative Solutions
• Thoughts for artists or inventors said to
work in different ways.
• Already have insight towards solving
problem
• Frame of reference organized and
interpreted differently than those less
creative
Unconscious Processing and
Incubation
• Working on a problem without giving rise
to conscious awareness
• Working out a problem in the same way
many times, difficulty getting problem right
because used to solving problem in a
certain way
Everyday Mechanisms
• Creative invention: directly remembering
past experience or knowledge with various
constraints
• noticing where the problem is: aha moment
• Contrary recognition: identifying an
object beyond reality- cloud as a castle