Beh Week 4
Problem-Solving Simulation
BEH/225
October 27, 2012
Problem-Solving Simulation
1. How did you interpret the problem? When I first looked at the problem I interpreted it to be very tough. It did not seem like it was going to be quickly achieved with any thought process. I followed the first step in solving a problem. According to Morris and Maisto (2010), this step is called problem representation. This means to interpret or define the problem. I knew the problem was to get all three animals to the other side without leaving certain animals by themselves. There was not a way to come up with multiple solutions to this problem. This type of thinking is called divergent thinking, which states the thinking meets the criteria of originality, inventiveness, and flexibility (Morris & Maisto, 2010). In this simulation, there is only one way to solve the problem, this thought process is called convergent thinking. Convergent thinking is thinking that is directed toward one correct solution to a problem (Morris & Maisto, 2010). 2. What strategy did you use and how did you evaluate your progress? My first strategy that I initially started with was trial and error. This usually is a good choice when there are not many items to select from. This did not work as well as I thought it would. I knew this problem sounded familiar to me so I tried information retrieval. Information retrieval is when an attempt is made to use long-term memory to try and solve the problem. I could not remember the trick to the problem. So I used heuristics, which proved to be successful. With hill climbing technique, I was able to evaluate my progress. I did this by keeping track of where I was placing the animals, and logging attempts that were not successful. 3. Did you encounter any obstacles while solving the problem? With the use of trial and error I did run into obstacles. My mental set was focused on only one way of solving the problem.
BEH/225
October 27, 2012
Problem-Solving Simulation
1. How did you interpret the problem? When I first looked at the problem I interpreted it to be very tough. It did not seem like it was going to be quickly achieved with any thought process. I followed the first step in solving a problem. According to Morris and Maisto (2010), this step is called problem representation. This means to interpret or define the problem. I knew the problem was to get all three animals to the other side without leaving certain animals by themselves. There was not a way to come up with multiple solutions to this problem. This type of thinking is called divergent thinking, which states the thinking meets the criteria of originality, inventiveness, and flexibility (Morris & Maisto, 2010). In this simulation, there is only one way to solve the problem, this thought process is called convergent thinking. Convergent thinking is thinking that is directed toward one correct solution to a problem (Morris & Maisto, 2010). 2. What strategy did you use and how did you evaluate your progress? My first strategy that I initially started with was trial and error. This usually is a good choice when there are not many items to select from. This did not work as well as I thought it would. I knew this problem sounded familiar to me so I tried information retrieval. Information retrieval is when an attempt is made to use long-term memory to try and solve the problem. I could not remember the trick to the problem. So I used heuristics, which proved to be successful. With hill climbing technique, I was able to evaluate my progress. I did this by keeping track of where I was placing the animals, and logging attempts that were not successful. 3. Did you encounter any obstacles while solving the problem? With the use of trial and error I did run into obstacles. My mental set was focused on only one way of solving the problem.
References: Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A. A. (2010). Understanding psychology (9th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.