Question 1

Bowden et al. (2005) presented participants with three cue words (e.g., "fence", "card" and "master"), and participants would have to think of a word (e.g., "post"). A problem such as this is referred to as:

Accepted Answer

The task described is a version of the Remote Associates Test (RAT), which requires participants to generate a word that is related to three cue words in a creative way. The other options listed are not relevant to this specific task.

Question 2

Duncker's (1945) study on human problem solving demonstrated the notion of:

Accepted Answer

Duncker's study focused on mental set, which is the tendency to approach problems in a particular way, often based on past experiences and knowledge. While "Aha!" experiences or "Eureka moments" may occur during problem solving, they were not the primary focus of Duncker's research. Operant conditioning and wanderlust are not relevant to the study.

Question 3

Failing to solve problems, because one assumes from past experience that a given object has only a limited number of familiar uses, has been called:

Accepted Answer

Functional fixedness is the tendency to only see an object in terms of its familiar use rather than considering alternative uses. A and B are similar concepts but do not specifically refer to this type of problem-solving obstacle. D and E are not related to this concept.

Question 4

Problem solving that involves the reuse of previous experiences has been termed:

Accepted Answer

Reproductive thinking involves the use of previous experiences to solve problems. Productive thinking involves generating new ideas and solutions, insight involves sudden understanding and realization, trial-and-error learning involves repeated attempts to solve a problem, and deductive reasoning involves using logic to draw conclusions.

Question 5

Which of the following tasks requires one to keep one's pen on the paper at all times while drawing lines?

Accepted Answer

The Nine-dot problem is a puzzle that requires the solver to draw four straight lines through nine dots arranged in a 3x3 grid without lifting the pen from the paper, making it the task that requires continuous contact with the paper.

Question 6

Which of the following is an aspect of deliberate practice?

Accepted Answer

All of the listed aspects are essential components of deliberate practice, as they contribute to the learner's ability to make progress and improve their skills. The task must be appropriately challenging to promote growth, feedback is crucial for identifying areas of improvement, sufficient repetition is necessary for mastery, and the ability to correct errors is integral to the learning process. Therefore, all of these factors are necessary for deliberate practice.

Question 7

Gobet used the what term to describe a schematic structure that is more general than an actual board position?

Accepted Answer

Gobet used the term "template" to describe a schematic structure that is more general than an actual board position.

Question 8

People perform poorly on the Monty Hall problem. Their poor level of performance is due to ______?

Accepted Answer

The answer of People perform poorly on the Monty Hall...

Question 9

According to Newell and Simon (1972), an important heuristic that involves changing the present state within the problem to one closer to the goal is called:

Accepted Answer

Hill climbing is a heuristic that involves changing the present state within the problem to one closer to the goal.

Question 10

There is overlap between the notion of cognitive miser and Newell and Simons' (1972) focus on problem solvers' use of heuristics. Newell and Simon assumed our limited processing capacity does what to us to use heuristics?

Accepted Answer

Newell and Simon assumed that our limited processing capacity forces us to use heuristics as a way to conserve cognitive resources. The cognitive miser theory also posits that we use heuristics to conserve mental effort and make quick judgments. Therefore, there is overlap between these two concepts in terms of how our cognitive limitations affect our use of heuristics.

Question 11

Ohlsson's (1992) view that problems can be solved by altering the representation, shares similarities with which Gestalt notion?

Accepted Answer

Ohlsson's view aligns with the Gestalt notion of restructuring because he believes that problem-solving involves changing the way a problem is represented in order to facilitate a solution. This involves restructuring the problem in a way that makes it easier to solve.

Question 12

Newell and Simon (1972) included the initial stage of the problem, the goal state, all of the possible moves and intermediate states of the problem, in what they deemed the:

Accepted Answer

Newell and Simon (1972) referred to the initial stage of the problem, the goal state, all of the possible moves and intermediate states of the problem as the problem space. The other options do not accurately describe this concept.

Question 13

Wallas (1926) suggested that a problem can often be solved more easily by simply ignoring it for some time, during what he called:

Accepted Answer

Wallas (1926) suggested that incubation is a stage of the creative problem-solving process where the problem solver stops consciously thinking about the problem and allows their subconscious to continue working on the problem. This can lead to unexpected insights and solutions.

Question 14

According to Chen (2002), a current problem may be similar to a previous one because causal relations among some of the main components are shared by both problems. This is termed:

Accepted Answer

Chen (2002) specifically used the term "structural similarity" to refer to cases where the causal relations among components are shared between two problems. Therefore, choice D, "Structural similarity," is the correct answer. Choices A, B, C, and E may all be applicable in certain contexts, but they are not the specific term used by Chen to describe this type of problem similarity.

Question 15

According to Ohlsson (1992), changing the representation of a problem, so that restrictions on what is regarded as possible are removed, is termed:

Accepted Answer

Ohlsson (1992) defines constraint relaxation as changing the representation of a problem by removing restrictions on what is regarded as possible. This allows for more possibilities and potential solutions to be considered by the problem solver.

Question 16

Most research on expertise has made use of:

Accepted Answer

Most research on expertise has focused on knowledge-rich problems, which require extensive domain-specific knowledge and are typically complex and challenging. This is because expertise is primarily characterized by the ability to solve problems within a particular domain, and knowledge-rich problems provide an effective means of assessing this ability.

Question 17

Dagher et al. (1999) used various levels of complexity in the Tower of London problem. They found that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was most associated with which process?

Accepted Answer

Dagher et al. (1999) found that the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was most associated with plan generation in the Tower of London problem, as it requires the generation of multiple possible solutions and the selection of the optimal one. It does not involve negative feedback, reward, or emotional reasoning.

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the three specified major aspects to problem solving?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which of the following is NOT one...

Question 19

Which computer program, designed to solve numerous well-defined problems, is credited to Newell and Simon (1972)?

Accepted Answer

The General Problem Solver (GPS) is a computer program developed by Allen Newell and Herbert A. Simon in 1957 for solving complex, interconnected problems. It was one of the very first programs to be able to solve general problems.

Question 20

If chess experts use long-term working memory to learn the positions of chess pieces on a board, what do novices rely on?

Accepted Answer

The answer of If chess experts use long-term working memory...

Quiz 12: Problem Solving and Expertise

Bowden et al. (2005) presented participants with three cue words (e.g., "fence", "card" and "master") , and participants would have to think of a word (e.g., "post") . A problem such as this is referred to as: