COGNITIVE PSYCHOLOGY
Chapter 7: PROBLEM SOLVING
Prepared and Compiled by: Jenie Rae T. Dela Cruz
2nd Semester, S.Y. 2025-2026
PROBLEM SOLVING
Problem Solving - an effort to overcome
obstacles obstructing the path to a solution on.
➔ How people solve problems depends
partly on how they understand the
problem
The Problem-Solving Cycle
Initial state → obstacle → desired state
The Problem identification
The problem definitions and representation TYPES OF PROBLEMS
1. Well-structured problems: have clear
Strategy formulation
paths to solutions; well-defined problems
➔ Analysis vs. synthesis
➔ Divergent thinking (generate diverse Move problems: require a series of moves
assortment of possible alternative to reach the final goal state
solutions) vs. convergent thinking
(narrow down the multiple possibilities to Three main errors when trying to solve
converge on a single answer) well-structured problems:
a. Inadvertently moving backward
Organization of information
b. Making illegal moves
Allocation of resources c. Not realizing the nature of the
➔ Experts and better students tend to
devote more mental resources to global next legal move
planning ➢ Problem space - the universe of all
possible actions that can be
Monitoring
applied to solving a problem, given
Evaluation any constraints that apply to the
➔ Order may vary, steps may be solution of the problem
repeated or skipped; Emotions can ➢ A problem space contains all the
influence how the problem-solving possible strategies leading from
cycle is implemented. the initial problem state to the
solution (the goal state). This
problem space, for example, shows
four of the heuristics that might
be used in solving the move
problem
➢ Algorithms - sequences of operations in a problem space that may be repeated over and over
again that, in theory, guarantee the solution to a problem → continues until it satisfies a
condition determined by a program
➢ Humans use heuristics (informal, intuitive, speculative mental shortcuts) to solve problems due to
the limited capacity of working memory (e.g. availability heuristic)
Heuristic Simple Definition Move Problem Everyday Travel Example (Air
Example Travel)
Means–Ends Focus on the goal and Move more people to Choose routes that reduce distance
Analysis reduce the gap the far bank and from home to destination
between current state fewer on the near
and goal bank
Working Start from the Begin with all people Look at routes from home and pick
Forward beginning and move on one bank and ones leading closer to destination
step by step toward move them step by
the goal step
Working Start from the goal Imagine all are on Start from destination and trace
Backward and work back to the the far bank, then back possible routes to home
beginning reverse steps to
start
Generate & Try different options Try possible moves; Try different flight routes and
Test and see which works eliminate ones that choose the best one (though many
don’t work options can make this hard)
Isomorphic Problems - Formal structure is the 2. Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of
same, only the content differs Insight
➔ It is often difficult to observe the underlying ● ll-structured problems do not have
structural isomorphism of problems and to be
well-defined problem spaces →
able to apply problem-solving strategies from
problem solvers have difficulty
one problem to another
constructing appropriate mental
Problem Representation Does Matter!
➔ Initial state → various intermediate states →
representations for modelling
desired goal ill-structured problems and their
➔ A major determinant of the relative ease of solutions
solving a problem is how the problem is ● Problem: constructing a plan for
represented sequentially following a series of steps
➔ There might be a relationship between the that come closer to their solution
working-memory capacity and the ability to ● Domain knowledge and justification skills
solve analytic problems; no correlation with
are important for solving problems of
processing speed
any kind
➔ The Tower of Hanoi. There are three discs
● Insight problems - problems you
of unequal sizes, positioned on the far-left
side of three pegs so that the largest disc is
need to see in a novel way/
at the bottom, the middle-sized disc is in the restructure the representation to solve
middle, and the smallest disc is on the top. → Insight = a distinctive and sometimes
Your task is to transfer all three discs to the seemingly sudden understanding of a
peg on the far right, using the middle peg as a problem or strategy that aids in solving
stationing area as needed. You may move only the problem; involves detecting and
one disc at a time, and you may never move a combining relevant old and new
larger disc on top of a smaller disc.
information to gain a novel view of the
problem
Early Gestalt Views
Wertheimer: Productive thinking: involves
insights that go beyond the bounds of existing
associations vs Reproductive thinking: based
on existing associations involving what is
already known
→ Insightful thinking is productive
The Neo-Gestalt View
When given routine problems, problem solvers
show great accuracy in their ability to predict
their success before any attempt to solve it,
but when given insight problem, problem
solvers show poor ability to predict their
own success → successful problem solvers
often pessimistic about their ability,
unsuccessful ones often optimistic
Insight - a distinctive and sometimes seemingly Transfer of Analogies
sudden understanding of a problem or of a ● Analogical problem solving: thinking
strategy that aids in solving the problem. back to other problems → look for
Insights into Insight similarities → if relationship is found →
● Insight can occur gradually (not starting point to solve the new problem.
necessarily aha-Erlebnis ● When the domains or the contexts for
● Sleep has shown to increase the two problems are similar, people are more
likelihood that an insight will be produced likely to see and apply the analogy to
solve the problem
OBSTACLES AND AIDS TO ● Analogies are often not found, unless
they are explicitly sought
PROBLEM SOLVING
● surface- and deep structure of a problem
may differ → possible to be led astray by
1. Mental Sets, Entrenchment, and surface similarities
Fixation Intentional Transfer: Searching for Analogies
● What matters in analogies is how closely
Mental set - a frame of mind involving an
existing model for representing a problem, a their structural systems of relationship
problem context or a procedure for match (not the content)
problem solving (e.g. stereotypes) ● Ability for spontaneous analogical
Entrenchment - a fixated mental set that transfer is acquired around the age of 5½
works well in solving many problems but that years
does not work in solving one particular problem
● Transparency: people see analogies
Functional fixedness - the inability to
where they do not exist because of
realize that something known to have a
particular use may also be used for similar content
performing other functions (prevents people
from solving new problems by using old tools in 3. Incubation
novel ways)
Stereotypes - beliefs that members of a Incubation - putting the problem aside for a
social group tend more or less uniformly to while without consciously thinking about it →
have particular types of characteristics; minimizes negative transfer
special form of mental set - It involves taking a pause from the
stages of problem solving.
2. Negative and Positive Transfer
4. Embodied Cognition and Problem
Transfer - any carryover of knowledge or Solving
skills from one problem situation to another
1. Negative transfer: solving an earlier Embodied cognition - the theory that the
problem makes it harder to solve a mind influences the body and the body
later one influences the mind
2. Positive transfer: the solution of an
earlier problem makes it easier to solve
a new problem
5. Neuroscience and Planning during allow greater flexibility and an
Problem Solving increased likelihood that a solution
will be found (e.g. in mathematics)
- Planning saves time and improves
performance
● Global planning —encoding the problem
and formula ng a general strategy for
attacking the problem (or set of
Automatic Expert
problems).
● Local planning —forming and
Processes
implementing strategies for the details
of the task Experts use schematization and automatization
a. Schematization - developing rich, highly
organized schemas
EXPERTISE: KNOWLEDGE b. Automatization - consolidating sequencing steps
into unified routines that require little or no
AND PROBLEM SOLVING conscious control
➔ frees working-memory capacity, enables to
monitor progress and accuracy
Expertise - superior skills or achievement ➔ Automaticity may also hinder problem
reflecting a well-developed and solving, when problem is structurally
well-organized knowledgebase different
Organization of Knowledge Innate Talent and
● Knowledge can interact with
understanding in problem solving Acquired Skill
● Learners perform better when they are
Two approaches
presented new material in a coherent way
● Experts perform better when they are “practice makes perfect”: deliberate and
presented with material in a low coherent focused practice which emphasizes acquisition
and application of skills leads to expertise
way → need to focus more
focus on “talent” (e.g. intelligence, personality
traits, passion), while practice is still important
a. Experts: Large, highly interconnected units → Genetic heritage seems to make some
of knowledge; Organization according to difference in the acquisition of at least some
kinds of expertise
underlying structural similarities among
knowledge units
b. Novices: Relatively small and
Artificial Intelligence and
disconnected units of knowledge; Expertise
Organization according to superficial
similarities ● Computer programs have been developed
both to simulate human intelligence and
➔ Difference between experts and to exceed it.
novices in how they classify problems,
● In many ways, computer programs have
describe the essential nature of
problems, and how they determine and been created with the intention of solving
describe solutions problems faster and more efficiently
➔ The ability to apply a visual than humans.
representation to a variety of problems
The Turing Test
● The basic idea behind the Turing Test is whether an observer can distinguish the performance of
a computer from that of a human.
● The test is conducted with a computer, a human respondent, and an interrogator.
● The goal of the interrogator is to figure out which of two parties is a person communicating
through the computer, and which is the computer itself.
Expert Systems
● Expert systems are computer programs that can perform the way an expert does in a fairly
specific domain.
● They are not developed to model human intelligence, but to simulate performance in just one
domain, often a narrow one.
Summary of the Characteristics of Expert vs. Novice Problem Solvers
Aspect Experts Novices
Use of Time Spend more time determining how to Spend more time searching for and
represent a problem executing a problem strategy
Representation of Problems Develop sophisticated representations based Develop naive representations based on
on structural similarities superficial similarities
Work Direction Work forward from given information to find Work backward from unknowns to use
unknowns given information
Strategy Use strategies based on elaborate schemas; Use means–ends analysis for most
means–ends analysis only for unusual problems
problems
Automatization Automatized many sequences of steps within Show little or no automatization
strategies
Efficiency Highly efficient; solve problems quickly Relatively inefficient; solve problems
under time constraints more slowly
Prediction of Difficulty Accurately predict problem difficulty Inaccurately predict problem difficulty
Monitoring Carefully monitor strategies and processes Show poor monitoring of strategies
Accuracy of Solution High accuracy in solutions Lower accuracy in solutions
Confronting Unusual Take more time to represent problems and Take less time to represent problems and
Problems retrieve strategies retrieve strategies
Handling Contradictory Flexible; adapt to more appropriate Less able to adapt to contradicting
Information strategies information