Question 1

Finke's creating an object studies show that people were more likely to come up with creative uses for preinventive objects if they

Accepted Answer

A)   made the objects themselves.
B)   had received training in creative thinking.
C)   had been preselected as "creative" individuals.
D)   were told they were expected to be creative. A

Question 2

Compare and contrast insight vs.non-insight problems, including a description of the kinds of problems representing each type.What is the evidence that insight does occur, and how does insight influence problem solving behavior?

Accepted Answer

Non-insight has to with more of an algebraic approach rather than one that deals with thinking out side of the box, but rather a process of solving the problem. Insight has to deal with problems such as the triangle problem and the chain problem, while non insight has to deal with mathematical problems such as algebra.
Insight problems have to deal with the sudden realization of a problem's solution. It involves suddenly discovering a crucial element that leads to the solution. Insight occurs in human learning when people recognize relationships (or make novel associations between objects or actions) that can help them solve new problems.
Insight is an awareness of key relationships between cause and effect, which comes after assembling the relevant information and either overt or covert testing of possibilities. Learning through such insight is called insight learning.
The first is that insight represents seeing clearly into the heart or essence of a situation, and the other is that we do not do this by a step-by-step process, but partially by unconscious processes. Although insight learning suggests sudden realization of a solution, insight is not a process that occurs out of the blue.
First part of the path comes from intense research or work pertaining to some domain, which is termed as the pre-solution period.
The time of idleness in which the idea or concept seems to spontaneously pop up is the next step.
Having the idea or concept is not enough; it needs to be taken back to the thinking and working stage so that it can be materialized. There needs to be a certain basis for insight to appear, as insight depends upon the time and events that take place in order for the material to be transformed from initial stimuli into insightful thought.

Question 3

Gestalt psychologists consider problem solving as a process involving

Accepted Answer

A)   restructuring.
B)   multiple goal states.
C)   sensory operators.
D)   continuity and form. A

Question 4

The information processing approach describes problem solving as a process involving

Accepted Answer

A)   design fixation.
B)   creative cognition.
C)   insight.
D)   search.

Question 5

Newell and Simon called the conditions at the beginning of the problem the

Accepted Answer

A)   intermediate state.
B)   goal state.
C)   initial state.
D)   source story.

Question 6

In Kaplan and Simon's experiment, they presented different versions of the mutilated checkerboard problem.Participants in the ____ group had the fastest response time.

Accepted Answer

A)   blank
B)   color
C)   black and pink
D)   bread and butter

Question 7

The text's discussion of the research on in vivo problem solving highlighted that ____ play(s)an important role in solving scientific problems.

Accepted Answer

A)   analogies
B)   insight
C)   flexibility
D)   subgoals

Question 8

The best description of the purpose of think-aloud protocols is that they are used to determine

Accepted Answer

A)   what information a person is attending to while solving a problem.
B)   which people can be considered more creative in ability to solve problems.
C)   how to develop computer programs that best mimic human problem solving.
D)   how a person's expertise increases his or her likelihood of solving a problem, relative to a beginner.

Question 9

Which of the following provides the best example of functional fixedness?

Accepted Answer

A)   Using a pair of pliers as a paperweight
B)   Using a tire as a swing seat and as a football practice target
C)   Using a juice glass as a container for orange juice
D)   Using a wine bottle as a vase

Question 10

Intermediate states can be created by

Accepted Answer

A)   restructuring initial states.
B)   restructuring goal states.
C)   creating operators.
D)   creating subgoals.

Question 11

Holly was in her mother-in-law's kitchen preparing lunch for the family.When she was ready to dish up the soup, she searched all the cupboards and drawers for a ladle but couldn't find one. She decided to wait until her mother-in-law returned to ask her where the ladle was, leaving the soup in the stove pot.Her mother-in-law later explained that the ladle had been broken, so she told Holly to use a coffee mug to "spoon" the soup into bowls.Holly's ability to solve the "dish up the soup" problem was hindered by which of the following obstacles?

Accepted Answer

A)   Discriminability
B)   Perseveration
C)   Divergent thinking
D)   Functional fixedness

Question 12

The circle problem, in which the task is to determine the length of a line inside a circle, was proposed to illustrate

Accepted Answer

A)   how analogies can be used to solve problems.
B)   means-end analysis.
C)   representation and restructuring.
D)   the problem space.

Question 13

A researcher records a brainstorming session in an industrial research and development department.Later, she analyzes the recorded discussions, identifying certain problem-solving techniques.This research is an example of ____ research.

Accepted Answer

A)   think-aloud protocol
B)   situationally-produced mental set
C)   environmental functional fixedness
D)   in vivo problem-solving

Question 14

Insight refers to

Accepted Answer

A)   prior learning facilitating problem solving.
B)   prior learning hindering problem solving.
C)   the tendency to respond in a certain manner, based on past experience.
D)   the sudden realization of a problem's solution.

Question 15

Ali works for Citrus Squeeze, a company that makes orange juice.Sales of their calcium-enhanced OJ have been poor, and the product was cancelled.His factory still had three cases of cartons, and Ali was told he could take them if he wanted them.With the cartons, Ali made several birdfeeders for his backyard and also planted tree seedlings in some of them; he used the remaining ones to build a "fort" for his four-year-old son.Ali's use of the cartons represents

Accepted Answer

A)   convergent thinking.
B)   divergent thinking.
C)   insight.
D)   hierarchical organization.

Question 16

In Belilock and Carr's study of the relationship between working memory capacity and problem solving, individuals with high working memory capacity performed best in the condition.

Accepted Answer

A)   low-pressure
B)   high-pressure
C)   well-defined
D)   ill-defined

Question 17

Warmth judgments on nearness to a solution ____ prior to the solution of an insight problem and ____ prior to the solution of a non-insight problem.

Accepted Answer

A)   gradually rise; gradually rise
B)   gradually rise; rise suddenly just
C)   rise suddenly just; gradually rise
D)   vary unpredictably; vary unpredictably

Question 18

Experts _____ than novices.

Accepted Answer

A)   spend less time analyzing problems
B)   are better at reasoning in general
C)   are more likely to be open to new ways of looking at problems
D)   take a more effective approach to a problem

Question 19

The analogy that makes the solution to the mutilated checkerboard problem obvious is the ____ problem.

Accepted Answer

A)   lightbulb
B)   Tower of Hanoi
C)   radiation
D)   Russian marriage

Question 20

The radiation problem was used in your text to illustrate the role of ____ in problem solving.

Accepted Answer

A)   means-end analysis
B)   functional fixedness
C)   analogy
D)   mental set

Exam 12: Problem Solving