Week 9 - Problem Solving and Intelligence PDF

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HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence

Topic 1 – Problem Solving 1. Describe problem solving as a process of search Problem Solving – The process in which a person begins with a goal and seeks some steps that will lead towards that goal. Problem Space – The set of all states that can be reached in solving problems, as the problem solver moves, by means of the problem’s operations, from problem’s initial state towards its goal state.

2. What are the hill-climbing and means-end analysis heuristics? Hill-Climbing Strategy – A commonly used strategy in problem solving. If people use this strategy, then whenever their efforts towards solving a problem give them a choice, they will choose the option that carries them closer to the goal. Means-End Analysis – A strategy used in problem solving in which the person is guided, step by step, by a comparison of the difference between the current state and the goal state, and by a consideration of the operations available for reducing the difference.

3. When is it useful to use pictures and diagrams to solve problems? It is often helpful to translate a problem into concrete terms, relying on a mental image or a picture. The bookworm problem is a good example of this. Individuals who use algebraic solution tend to get it wrong, but those who visualise it at the beginning get it correct. BOOKWORM PROBLEM Solomon is proud of his 26-volume encyclopedia, placed neatly, with the volumes in alphabetical order, on his bookshelf. Solomon doesn’t realize, though, that there’s a bookworm sitting on the front cover of the A volume. The bookworm begins chewing his way through the pages on the shortest possible path toward the back cover of the Z volume. Each volume is 3 inches thick (including pages and covers), so that the entire set of volumes requires 78 inches of bookshelf. The bookworm chews through the pages and covers at a steady rate of 3⁄4 of an inch per month. How long will it take before the bookworm reaches the back cover of the Z volume?

4. Describe problem solving by analogy using the tumour problem as an example

HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence Often, a problem reminds you of other problems you’ve solved in the past, and so you can rely on your past experiences, in tackling the currently challenge. In other words, you solve the currently problem by means of an analogy with other, already solved problems.

THE TUMOR PROBLEM (A) Suppose you are a doctor faced with a patient who has a malignant tumor in his stomach. To operate on the patient is impossible, but unless the tumor is destroyed the patient will die. A kind of ray, at a sufficiently high intensity, can destroy the tumor. Unfortunately, at this intensity the healthy tissue that the rays pass through on the way to the tumor will also be destroyed. At lower intensities the rays are harmless to healthy tissue but will not affect the tumor. How can the rays be used to destroy the tumor without injuring the healthy tissue? (B) A dictator ruled a country from a strong fortress, and a rebel general, hoping to liberate the country, vowed to capture the fortress. The general knew that an attack by his entire army would capture the fortress, but he also knew that the dictator had planted mines on each of the many roads leading to the fortress. The mines were set so that small groups of soldiers could pass over them safely, since the dictator needed to move his own troops to and from the fortress. However, any large force would detonate the mines, blowing them up and also destroying the neighboring villages. The general knew, therefore, that he couldn't just march his army up one of the roads to the fortress. Instead, he devised a simple plan. He divided his army into small groups and dispatched each group to the head of a different road. When all were ready, he gave the signal and each group marched up a different road to the fortress, with all the groups arriving at the fortress at the same time. In this way, the general captured the fortress and overthrew the dictator. (Solution) The tumor problem, designed by Duncker (1945) and presented in Panel A, has been studied extensively. Can you solve it? One solution is to aim multiple low-intensity rays at the tumor, each from a different angle. The rays will meet at the site of the tumor and so, at just that location, will sum to full strength. People are much more likely to solve this problem if they’re encouraged to use the hint provided by the problem shown in Panel B.

5. What strategies help people to use analogies? 6. Why are experts better problem solvers than novices? They can focus on the deeper structure of a problem.

Topic 2 – Problems and Creativity 1. What are ill-defined and well-defined problems? Ill-Defined – A problem for which the goal state is specified only in general terms and the operation available for reaching the goal state are not obvious at the start. Well-Defined – Clearly state what the goal is and the options we have in order to solve the problem. The problems are easier to solve.

2. What is functional fixedness and how does it affect problem solving? A tendency to be rigid in how one thinks about an objects function. This generally involves a strong tendency to think of an object only in terms of its typical function (see example on next page)

HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence

3. What are the costs and benefits of having a problem solving set? Problem-Solving Set – The starting assumptions that a person uses when trying to solve a new problem. Positive – These assumptions are often helpful, because they guide the person away from pointless strategies. Negative – But these assumptions can sometimes steer the person away from worthwhile strategies, in which case they can be an obstacle to problem solving.

In this case, people assume that they cannot go outside the perimeters of the dots and find this task difficult.

HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence 4. What have case studies of creativity told us about the common elements? There are four elements, that include; - Great knowledge and skills in their area - Willing to take risks and ignore criticism - Motivated by pleasure of work - In the right place at the right time

5. What are Wallas' four stages of creative thought and is there any empirical evidence for them? Four Stages of Creative Thought: - Preparation: Gather all information that you need, about the problem and start to do a little bit of the work - Incubation: Sit the problem aside and don’t work on it for a period of time. Unconscious process would continue to work on the problem even when you are not directly thinking about it. - Illumination: New idea (Hooray)The ah-hah moment - Verification: Determine that the new idea actually leads to a solution. Research suggest that incubation can sometimes work and sometimes doesn’t. Research suggests that illumination doesn’t necessarily mean you have the correct answer, you just have an answer.

Topic 3 – Intelligence 1. What is the "intelligence quotient"? Intelligence Quotient (IQ) –

2. Give an example of a modern IQ test Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) These are tests to assess general knowledge, vocabulary, and comprehension and a perceptualreasoning scale includes visual puzzles. Separate subtests assess working memory and speed of intellectual processing. (See examples below)

HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence 3. Why are IQ tests considered to be reliable and valid? Reliability – The degree of which a test measures a trait or attribute, Test-Retest Reliability – An assessment of whatever a test is consistent in what it measures one occasion to another, determined by asking wither the test’s results on one occasion are correlated with results from the same test (or a close variant on it) given at a later time. Intelligence tests have strong test-retest reliability. Validity – The extend to which a method or procedure measures what it is supposed to measure. Validity is assessed in a variety of ways, including through predictive validity. Predictive Validity – An assessment of whether a test measure what it is intended to measure, based on whether the test scores correlate with (i.e., can predict) some other relevant criterion.

4. What is general intelligence (g)? General Intelligence (g) – A mental capacity that is hypothesized as contributing to the performance of virtually any intellectual task. The existence of g is documented by the statistical overlap, usually revealed through factor analysis, among diverse forms of mental testing. Factor Analysis – A statistical method for studying the interrelations among various tests. The goal is to discover the extent to which the tests are influenced by the same factors

5. What is the difference between fluid and crystallised intelligence? Fluid Intelligence (gF)– The ability to deal with new and unusual problems. - Peaks (at early adulthood) and declines Crystallised Intelligence (gC)– A person’s acquired knowledge, including his or her repertoire of verbal knowledge and cognitive skills. - Increases with age

6. What are the two proposals that describe what g is? Speed of mental processes, those who have high g, will have faster processing speeds. Working Memory Capacity, those with larger do better on intellectual tasks.

7. What is practical intelligence? What is emotional intelligence? Practical Intelligence – The ability to solve everyday problems through skilled reasoning that relies on tacit knowledge acquired through experience. Emotional Intelligence – The ability to understand one’s own and others’ emotions and to control one’s emotions appropriately

8. Why should we consider other, non-traditional types of intelligence? Gardener (1983) forms of intelligence

HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence

Topic 4 – Differences in Intelligence 1. How do we know that there are genetic influences in determining intelligence? We can see the impact of genetic influences on intelligence in the fact that people who resemble each other genetically also resemble each other in their IQ scores. This resemblance is in place even if the individuals grow up in different environments. For example, identical (i.e., monozygotic) twins tend to have highly similar IQ scores even if the twins are reared in different households.

2. How do we know that there are environmental influences in determining intelligence? There’s no question, though, that environmental factors also matter for intelligence. For example, we’ve known for many years that living in poverty impedes intellectual development, and the effect is cumulative: The longer the child remains in such an environment, the greater the harm. This point emerges in the data as a negative correlation between IQ and age. That is, the older the child (the longer she had been in the impoverished environment), the lower her IQ. A related — and more optimistic — finding is that improving the environment can increase IQ. In one study, researchers focused on cases in which the government had removed children from their biological parents because of abuse or neglect (Duyme, Dumaret, & Tomkiewicz, 1999). The researchers compared the children’s “pre-adoption IQ” (when the children were living in a high-risk environment) with their IQ in adolescence — after years of living with adoptive families. The data showed substantial improvements in the children’s scores, thanks to this environmental change.

HBS203 The Human Mind Week 9

Problem Solving and Intelligence 3. How does looking at the impact of poverty inform us about the interaction between genetics and the environment on intelligence? 4. What are the explanations for the differences in IQ scores found between Caucasian Americans and African Americans?...