Question 1

When you walk away from a difficult problem and do something else for a while,then come back and solve the problem successfully,you have experienced the ______ effect.

Accepted Answer

A) incubation 
B) mental-set 
C) unconscious-processing 
D) problem-space

Question 2

Psychologists focus on well-defined problems because they ______.

Accepted Answer

A) are easy to present 
B) often take weeks or months to solve 
C) can be complicated to score 
D) accurately mirror real-world problems

Question 3

You are attempting to find the home of a friend whom you have not visited in many years.When you arrive in her town,you remember to drive south on Main Street and turn left on Elm.Once on Elm,however,you become less certain.Driving farther,you reach the intersection of Elm and Sycamore.You remember this intersection,but you cannot remember whether you should turn here or go on a little farther.You temporarily assume that you should go on.However,about a block farther on,you reach a dead end.Retracing your route,you realize now that the correct option would have been to turn on Sycamore.You have used the technique of ______.

Accepted Answer

A) generate-and-test 
B) means-end analysis 
C) reasoning by analogy 
D) backtracking

Question 4

If you are using means-end analysis to try to solve a problem,you would be most likely to ______.

Accepted Answer

A) systematically test all possible solutions until you arrive at the correct answer 
B) continue to randomly choose hypotheses to test until you finally arrived at the correct answer 
C) use intuitive or informed principles to guide your hypothesis choices 
D) try to take incremental steps to slowly work your way toward achieving the solution

Question 5

Give an example from your own life of a well-defined problem and an ill-defined problem.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Give an example from your own life...

Question 6

______ thinking begins with a clear starting point and has a specific goal.

Accepted Answer

A) Focused 
B) Unfocused 
C) Intelligent 
D) Puzzled

Question 7

Means-ends analysis can guarantee a solution to any problem.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

The General Problem Solver is a computer program that solves problems in crypt arithmetic and logic using ______.

Accepted Answer

A) means-end analysis 
B) generate-and-test 
C) reasoning by analogy 
D) introspection

Question 9

Inference rules normally take the form of ______.

Accepted Answer

A) "If X is true,then only X is true." 
B) "If X is true,then all X's are true." 
C) "If X is true,then Y is true." 
D) "If X is true,then Y is false."

Question 10

In research on mental search of a "problem space," a "path" is ______.

Accepted Answer

A) any connection between two nodes 
B) a sequence of moves beginning at the initial state and ending at the final goal state 
C) the single solution to a problem 
D) the most efficient solution to a problem

Question 11

A(n)______ problem has a clear goal,a small set of starting information,and rules about how to attain the goal.

Accepted Answer

A) classic 
B) laboratory 
C) well-defined 
D) introspective

Question 12

Contrary recognition is a form of ______ thinking.

Accepted Answer

A) analogical 
B) metaphorical 
C) featural 
D) persuasive

Question 13

Study of chess masters indicate that masters ______.

Accepted Answer

A) consider more possible moves than novices do 
B) choose the best move only after lengthy consideration 
C) extract more information from a brief exposure to a chess board 
D) are better at planning future moves than novices are

Question 14

The string problem often generates ______ when participants do not think to use the screwdriver as a pendulum.

Accepted Answer

A) functional fixedness 
B) mental set 
C) incomplete representations 
D) reasoning by analogy

Question 15

______ is a very important technique for solving the Towers of Hanoi problem.

Accepted Answer

A) Means-end analysis 
B) Generate-and-test 
C) Working backward 
D) Reasoning by analogy

Question 16

In working a logic problem,you often need to make certain provisional assumptions,but sometimes they turn out to be wrong and need to be "unmade." The process of keeping track of assumptions so that you can back up to point of choice is called ______.

Accepted Answer

A) working backward 
B) backtracking 
C) introspection 
D) reasoning by analogy

Question 17

Mental set can cause people to make unwarranted assumptions about the "rules" for solving a particular problem.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 18

When you adopt a certain framework or strategy for solving a series of problems such as the water jar problems,you may fail to see other,more efficient ways of solving some of the problems.This is referred to as ______.

Accepted Answer

A) functional fixedness 
B) procrastination 
C) a heuristic 
D) mental set

Question 19

Mental set ______.

Accepted Answer

A) can only be induced by large amounts of practice 
B) can lead us to make unwarranted assumptions about a problem 
C) involves the use of analogy to solve a problem 
D) aids problem solving because it supplies an efficient problem representation

Question 20

The popular number game Sudoku involves using given information to make guesses about where certain numbers should fall within a large grid.As you begin to fill in numbers,you become more certain of which numbers can go in other cells.This demonstrates which problem-solving strategy?

Accepted Answer

A) working backward 
B) backtracking 
C) means-end 
D) generate-and-test

Exam 11: Thinking and Problem Solving

When you walk away from a difficult problem and do something else for a while,then come back and solve the problem successfully,you have experienced the ______ effect.

Psychologists focus on well-defined problems because they ______.

If you are using means-end analysis to try to solve a problem,you would be most likely to ______.

Give an example from your own life of a well-defined problem and an ill-defined problem.

______ thinking begins with a clear starting point and has a specific goal.

Means-ends analysis can guarantee a solution to any problem.

The General Problem Solver is a computer program that solves problems in crypt arithmetic and logic using ______.

Inference rules normally take the form of ______.

In research on mental search of a "problem space," a "path" is ______.

A(n) ______ problem has a clear goal,a small set of starting information,and rules about how to attain the goal.

Contrary recognition is a form of ______ thinking.

Study of chess masters indicate that masters ______.

The string problem often generates ______ when participants do not think to use the screwdriver as a pendulum.

______ is a very important technique for solving the Towers of Hanoi problem.

In working a logic problem,you often need to make certain provisional assumptions,but sometimes they turn out to be wrong and need to be "unmade." The process of keeping track of assumptions so that you can back up to point of choice is called ______.

Mental set can cause people to make unwarranted assumptions about the "rules" for solving a particular problem.

When you adopt a certain framework or strategy for solving a series of problems such as the water jar problems,you may fail to see other,more efficient ways of solving some of the problems.This is referred to as ______.

Mental set ______.

The popular number game Sudoku involves using given information to make guesses about where certain numbers should fall within a large grid.As you begin to fill in numbers,you become more certain of which numbers can go in other cells.This demonstrates which problem-solving strategy?