Study Notes on Cognitive Psychology

Prepared by: Mx. Jose Francisco Ortalla, MP-CP

Chapter 11: Problem Solving and Creativity

I. The Problem-Solving Cycle

●​ The problem-solving cycle involves a series of steps undertaken when attempting to
overcome obstacles to reach a solution or achieve a goal.
●​ The steps in the problem-solving cycle are:
○​ Problem identification: Recognizing that a problem exists.
○​ Problem definition and representation: Clearly understanding and articulating
the problem. How people understand the problem partly determines how they
solve it. Difficulty in this stage can make problems insoluble by imposing
unnecessary constraints.
○​ Strategy formulation: Planning how to solve the problem. This can involve:
■​ Analysis: Breaking down a complex problem into smaller parts.
■​ Synthesis: Putting together various elements to form a useful
arrangement.
■​ Divergent thinking: Generating a wide range of possible solutions.
■​ Convergent thinking: Narrowing down the options to the single best
solution.
○​ Organization of information: Understanding how different pieces of information
in the problem relate to each other.
○​ Resource allocation: Deciding how much time, effort, and money to invest in
the problem. Experts tend to allocate more mental resources to global planning,
while novices focus on detail-oriented planning. Spending more time planning
can prevent false starts and errors.
○​ Monitoring: Checking if the problem-solving process is on track.
○​ Evaluation: Assessing whether the problem has been solved correctly.
●​ The problem-solving cycle is described as a cycle because successful problem solving
may involve flexibility, going back and forth between steps, changing their order, or
skipping/adding steps as needed.
●​ Emotions can influence how the problem-solving cycle is implemented. High emotional
intelligence in groups can positively influence problem-solving. The ability to regulate
one's emotional state is related to problem-solving ability in mathematicians.

II. Types of Problems

●​ Problems can be categorized based on whether they have clear paths to a solution.

A. Well-Structured Problems

●​ Well-structured problems have clear paths to solutions and are also termed well-defined
problems. An example is finding the area of a parallelogram.
●​ On school tests, students encounter many well-structured problems with clear (though
not always easy) paths to solutions, often involving the application of a formula.
●​ Cognitive psychologists study less content-specific well-structured problems, such as
move problems, which require a series of moves to reach a goal state. The hobbits and
orcs problem is an example of a move problem solvable in a minimum of eleven linear
steps.
●​ People make common errors when solving well-structured problems:
○​ Inadvertently moving backward: Reverting to a state further from the goal.
 ○​ Making illegal moves: Performing actions not permitted by the problem's rules.
○​ Not realizing the nature of the next legal move: Getting "stuck" and not knowing
how to proceed.
●​ Algorithms are sets of procedures that, if followed correctly, guarantee a solution to a
problem. Computers can readily use algorithms to solve well-defined problems within a
problem space, which is the universe of all possible actions.
●​ The human mind has limitations in working memory and often uses heuristics, which are
informal, intuitive, speculative strategies that may or may not lead to a solution.
Examples of heuristics include means-ends analysis (reducing the difference between
the current and goal states), working forward, working backward, and generate and test.

B. Isomorphic Problems

●​ Isomorphic problems have the same formal structure but different content. The hobbits
and orcs problem is isomorphic to the missionaries and cannibals problem.
●​ Detecting the underlying structural isomorphism of problems is often difficult, making it
hard to apply problem-solving strategies from one problem to another.
●​ Isomorphisms are harder to detect when problems have different content or surface
characteristics, even if their structure is similar.

C. Problem Representation Does Matter

●​ The ease of solving isomorphic problems can vary greatly depending on how the
problem is represented.
●​ The Tower of Hanoi problem, where rings need to be transferred between pegs under
specific rules, illustrates how different representations can affect difficulty. Some
isomorphic forms of the Tower of Hanoi can take significantly longer to solve due to
differences in how the restrictions are mentally represented.
●​ Working memory capacity is related to the ability to solve analytic problems like the
Tower of Hanoi. Brain areas involved in the Tower of London task (similar to Tower of
Hanoi) include the prefrontal cortex, bilateral parietal cortex, and bilateral premotor
cortex.

D. Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of Insight

●​ Ill-structured problems lack clear paths to solutions and do not have well-defined
problem spaces. Examples include the two-string problem, the hat rack problem, the
married woman problem, and the sock problem.
●​ Solving ill-structured problems often requires insight, a seemingly sudden understanding
of the problem or a strategy that helps in solving it. Insight involves re-conceptualizing
the problem or strategy in a new way and combining old and new information.
●​ Insight problems require seeing the problem in a novel way, different from the initial
perception and typical problem-solving approaches, necessitating a restructuring of the
problem representation.
●​ Domain knowledge and justification skills are important for solving both ill- and
well-structured problems, especially for justifying the chosen representation and solution
for ill-structured problems.

1. Early Gestaltist Views

●​ Gestalt psychologists emphasized that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. For
problem solving, they believed insight problems require perceiving the problem as a
whole.
●​ Productive thinking, according to Max Wertheimer, involves insights that go beyond
existing associations, differing from reproductive thinking, which relies on already known
associations. Insightful (productive) thinking fundamentally differs from reproductive
thinking.
●​ Wolfgang Köhler's studies with the chimpanzee Sultan illustrated insight as a special
process different from normal, linear information processing.
2. The Neo-Gestaltist View

●​ Research suggests that insightful problem solving can be distinguished from

noninsightful problem solving in two ways:
○​ Problem solvers are accurate in predicting their success for routine problems but
poor at predicting success for insight problems.
○​ Feelings of "warmth" (closeness to the solution) increase gradually for routine
problems but show no such increase until just before the sudden realization of
the solution for insight problems.

3. Insights into Insight

●​ Insights may not always be sudden "a-ha" experiences but can occur gradually.
●​ Sleep has been shown to increase the likelihood of producing an insight in both
mathematical problem solving and rule-understanding tasks.

4. Neuroscience and Insight

●​ Neuroimaging studies show that brain activity during rest and problem solving shares
some common networks.
●​ fMRI studies indicate increased activity in the right anterior superior-temporal gyrus
during insight. EEGs also record a burst of high-frequency activity during insight. Right
hemisphere activity can be observed even before conscious insight, suggesting a
special role for the right hemisphere in insight processes.
●​ The right hippocampus is critical in forming insightful solutions, likely because it's
involved in combining relevant information from memory.
●​ A spike of activity in the right anterior temporal area occurs immediately before an
insight, an area involved in making connections among distantly related items.
●​ Brain activity during the preparation phase before seeing a problem can predict whether
insight will occur. Activation in the frontal lobes during preparation is associated with later
insightful solutions, while occipital lobe activation is associated with non-insightful
solutions. This suggests that some problem solvers are more likely to use insight, and
that planning for insight can occur before problem presentation.

III. Obstacles and Aids to Problem Solving

A. Mental Sets, Entrenchment, and Fixation

●​ A mental set (or entrenchment) is a frame of mind involving an existing model for
representing a problem, context, or solving procedure.
●​ When problem solvers have an entrenched mental set, they fixate on a strategy that
usually works but is ineffective for the current problem. Examples include fixating on
moving oneself towards the string in the two-string problem or assuming "married"
always means becoming wedded.
●​ Mental sets can also influence routine problems, as seen in water-jar problems where an
initially learned complex formula is applied even when simpler solutions are available.
Control participants without the initial mental set are more likely to find the simpler
solutions.
●​ Functional fixedness is a type of mental set involving the inability to realize that an object
known for a particular use can also perform other functions. Duncker's candle problem
demonstrates this, where participants were less likely to solve the problem if the
materials were presented inside the boxes, preventing them from seeing the boxes as
potential platforms.
●​ Stereotypes, as a form of mental set in social cognition, are beliefs about the
characteristics of social group members, often arising from overgeneralizations.
Stereotypes can hinder problem-solving abilities by limiting thinking. Stereotype threat,
the awareness of negative stereotypes about one's group, can also impair performance.

B. Negative and Positive Transfer

 ●​ Transfer is the carryover of knowledge or skills from one problem situation to another.
●​ Negative transfer occurs when solving an earlier problem makes it harder to solve a later
one. For example, familiar problem-solving strategies might be inappropriately applied to
a new, structurally different problem.
●​ Positive transfer occurs when solving an earlier problem makes it easier to solve a new
one. Early math skills transferring to advanced math is an example.

C. Transfer of Analogies

●​ Analogical problem solving involves using similarities between a new problem and
previously solved problems as a starting point for the new solution.
●​ Studies using Duncker's radiation problem (destroying a tumor with X-rays without
harming healthy tissue) and the military problem (capturing a fortress by dividing forces)
demonstrated positive transfer when participants were given the convergence solution to
the military problem before attempting the radiation problem. Transfer was stronger
when the solution to the analog was provided (75%) than when participants had to
generate it themselves (41%).
●​ The usefulness of an analogy depends on the induced mental set. Simply memorizing
the analogous story does not guarantee transfer. Providing two analogous problems can
enhance positive transfer.
●​ People often have trouble noticing analogies unless explicitly told to look for them.
Understanding why an example problem is solved in a particular way is more beneficial
for transfer than just understanding how.
●​ Sometimes people fail to recognize surface similarities, or they are misled by surface
similarities into believing problems are the same when they are not. Experienced
problem solvers can also be led astray by focusing on surface structures rather than
deep structures.
●​ Intentional Transfer: Searching for Analogies: Finding analogies requires perceiving the
relationships between problems, not just their content. Focusing on structural
relationships rather than content is difficult but crucial for analogical transfer. The
analogy between the military and radiation problems is hard to recognize due to differing
content.
●​ Children develop spontaneous analogical transfer skills around 5½ years old. Sad
individuals tend to solve problems analogically, while happy individuals tend to use
nonanalogical methods.
●​ Transparency is the phenomenon where people see analogies where they don't exist
due to content similarity, potentially leading to negative transfer between nonisomorphic
problems.

D. Incubation

●​ Incubation involves setting a problem aside for a while without consciously thinking
about it, which can help minimize negative transfer. It's a pause in the problem-solving
stages, allowing for subconscious processing.
●​ The effectiveness of incubation is debated, with some considering it essential and others
finding limited experimental support.
●​ A meta-analysis suggests that incubation is more fruitful with more preparation time and
less cognitively demanding intervening tasks. Divergent-thinking tasks benefit more from
incubation than linguistic tasks. Incubation may help relieve mental fixation.

E. Embodied Cognition and Problem Solving

●​ Embodied cognition theory posits that the mind influences the body and vice versa, with
bodily interactions with the physical world influencing cognitive processes.
●​ Studies on the two-string problem showed that physical movements (swinging arms)
could unconsciously facilitate finding the solution (swinging one string like a pendulum)
compared to stretching arms.
●​ Physically enacting metaphors related to problem solving ("thinking outside the box") can
enhance problem-solving ability.
 ●​ The benefit of related physical actions (like eye movements embodying the solution to
the radiation problem) depends on having sufficient spatial working-memory capacity.

F. Neuroscience and Planning during Problem Solving

●​ Investing initial time in planning a problem-solving approach can save time and improve
performance. Increased planning time with familiarity can reduce the total number of
moves in tasks like the Tower of Hanoi.
●​ The frontal lobes, particularly the prefrontal cortex, are essential for planning complex
problem-solving tasks. Neuroimaging studies (fMRI, PET) show activation in this region
during problem solving. Both left and right prefrontal areas are active during the planning
stage.
●​ Incorrect responses lead to greater bilateral prefrontal activation, suggesting the need to
devise a new plan.
●​ Traumatic brain injury affecting the prefrontal cortex can impair problem-solving and
planning abilities. Limited damage to the left prefrontal regions in TBI patients is
associated with better problem-solving performance.
●​ In tasks like the Tower of London, the premotor cortex and parietal regions are also
activated due to the need for attention and planning for movement, along with areas
active during visual spatial working memory.
●​ Studies on complex problem-solving situations like chess and logical derivations
investigate information processing.

IV. Expertise: Knowledge and Problem Solving

●​ Expertise involves superior skills or achievement reflecting a well-developed and
organized knowledge base, greatly enhancing problem solving.

A. Organization of Knowledge

●​ Beer experts showed superior memory for beers compared to novices, suggesting a
better framework for encoding and retrieving new information, not just better perceptual
abilities.
●​ Knowledge interacts with understanding. High coherence in texts helps learners with low
domain knowledge, while surprisingly, high-knowledge individuals may perform better
with low-coherence texts that force them to pay attention. This highlights the importance
of attentional processes, especially in expert domains where attention might wane due to
perceived familiarity.

B. Elaboration of Knowledge

●​ The difference between chess experts and novices lies in the amount, organization, and
use of knowledge. Experts have stored tens of thousands of board positions as
organized chunks, enabling better recall of meaningful arrangements but no advantage
with random arrangements.
●​ Retrieval processes for board arrangements are crucial for grandmaster-level chess
players.
●​ Experts in radiology, physics, and meditation also show schemas for solving problems
within their expertise, involving large, highly interconnected knowledge units organized
by underlying structural similarities, unlike novices whose knowledge is smaller,
disconnected, and organized by superficial similarities.
●​ Experts and novices differ in how they classify problems, describe their nature, and
determine solutions. Expert mathematicians use visual depictions for a wider range of
problems, not just those with obvious spatial components.
●​ Baseball knowledge significantly impacts the ability to understand and remember details
from a baseball game broadcast, more so than working memory capacity. A solid
knowledge base improves memory and problem-solving.
C. Reflections on Problem Solving

●​ Verbal protocols (thinking aloud while solving problems) can increase problem-solving
ability, especially when focused on the objects of the problem or written down. Writing
about the strategy seems more beneficial than speaking.
●​ Experts spend more time representing the problem and less time implementing the
solution strategy compared to novices.
●​ Experts focus on matching given information with existing schemas, working forward
from what they know to what they need to find out. They retrieve and implement
strategies based on their long-term memory schemas. Novices spend less time on
representation and often work backward, using means-ends analysis more frequently.

D. Automatic Expert Processes

●​ Through practice, experts automatize various operations, retrieving and executing them
easily while working forward.
●​ Two key processes are schematization (developing rich, organized schemas) and
automatization (consolidating steps into automatic routines). These processes shift the
burden from working memory to long-term memory, increasing efficiency and accuracy
and freeing up working memory for monitoring.
●​ Automaticity is seen in mathematics with basic skills becoming automatic, reducing
working memory load.
●​ However, automaticity can hinder experts when faced with structurally different
problems, where novices might initially perform better. Experts usually catch up due to
their rich schemas and self-monitoring skills, with the highest-level experts being less
susceptible to their own entrenchment.
●​ Even expert performance is not fully automated; continuous learning requires conscious
cognitive control.

E. Long-Term Working Memory and Expertise

●​ Experts often need to hold large amounts of information in memory (e.g., chess masters
playing blindfolded, mental calculators) exceeding the capacity of typical working
memory.
●​ The concept of long-term working memory in experts suggests they develop stable
memories accessible with retrieval cues within their expertise area. This allows them to
retain and retrieve large amounts of task-relevant information even when interrupted.
●​ Neuroimaging research supports this. Novices show high working memory
(prefrontal-parietal) activation, while experts show increasing long-term memory
(temporal) involvement with practice. Brain reorganization towards long-term memory
reliance in experts takes around six years.

F. Innate Talent and Acquired Skill

●​ While a rich knowledge base is crucial, the role of innate talent versus acquired skill
(practice) in expertise is debated.
●​ The "practice makes perfect" view (deliberate, focused practice emphasizing new skills)
is prominent. Ericsson argues that extensive deliberate practice can fundamentally
change skills, making novice-expert comparisons invalid.
●​ An alternative view acknowledges practice but also highlights the importance of talent,
starting age, personality traits like "grit," passion, and general intelligence.
●​ The interaction between innate abilities and experience is widely accepted. Some
domains, like wisdom, are more knowledge-based (nurture).
●​ Experts in some domains excel through prediction skills (e.g., typists looking ahead,
musicians sight-reading, athletes anticipating ball trajectory). Restricting look-ahead
eliminates the expert advantage in typing.
●​ Experts tend to use a more systematic approach to difficult problems within their domain,
like holding one variable constant while changing others in a biology lab simulation.
 ●​ Many expertise researchers minimize the contribution of talent due to its vague definition
and use outside of science. However, genetic heritage likely plays a role in some areas,
such as reading disabilities. Even small genetic contributions can matter in highly
competitive fields.

V. Creativity
●​ Creativity is broadly defined as the process of producing something that is both original
and worthwhile. This can take many forms (theory, art, process, etc.).
●​ Creative individuals show creative productivity (inventions, discoveries, artistic works)
and often have creative lifestyles characterized by flexibility, nonstereotyped behaviors,
and nonconforming attitudes.

A. Characteristics of Creative People

●​ Some psychologists measure creativity through divergent production, generating diverse
and appropriate responses, as in Guilford's work and the Torrance Tests of Creative
Thinking (assessing diversity, quantity, and elaboration of responses to open-ended
questions and figural completion tasks).
●​ Other research focuses on creativity as a cognitive process involving problem solving
and insight, emphasizing expertise and commitment. Highly creative individuals work
hard, study predecessors, and build on existing knowledge to create innovative products
and change society. Greater knowledge is correlated with greater project creativity in
design students.
●​ Computer programs can exhibit what seems like creativity (music composition, scientific
rediscovery), but their processes and true comparability to human creativity are debated.
Programs like Langley's rediscover ideas, while Deep Blue's chess success relied on
rapid computation, not creative play.
●​ Personality and motivation are crucial for creativity. Flexible beliefs and accepting
attitudes are often present. Intrinsic motivation (enjoyment, personal desire) is essential,
while extrinsic motivation (fame, fortune) may sometimes impede creativity. However,
extrinsic rewards for novel performance can increase both creativity and intrinsic
motivation.
●​ Consistent traits associated with creative individuals include openness to new
experiences, self-confidence, self-acceptance, impulsivity, ambition, drive, dominance,
and hostility; they are also less conventional.
●​ Creativity must be viewed in its social, intellectual, and cultural contexts and across
history. Creative contributions are often unpredictable as they violate existing norms.
Abilities to make serendipitous discoveries and actively pursue them are key.
●​ Evolutionary models view creativity as a process of blind variation (generating many
ideas without knowing their success) and selective retention (valuing and labeling some
ideas as creative by the field). Quantity of ideas is important for producing lasting
creative work.
●​ Creative individuals often had moderately supportive but strict early family lives and
highly supportive mentors. They showed early interest in their field but weren't always
exceptional initially. Revolutionary breakthroughs typically occur after about a decade of
practice, often with some emotional and intellectual support. Sustained contributions
depend on the field ....
●​ The investment theory of creativity suggests that multiple individual and environmental
factors converge for creativity. Highly creative individuals "buy low" (see hidden potential
in undervalued ideas), develop them, and "sell high" (move on to new undervalued
ideas), staying ahead of the field .... Developing a strong knowledge base along with
skills and attributes essential for creativity is important.
●​ Dogmatism can interfere with creativity by preventing new perspectives. Creativity can
also be used destructively.
●​ Insight in problem solving is linked to creativity, as seen in the toothpick problem
requiring a shift from a 2D to a 3D perspective ....
B. Neuroscience and Creativity
●​ Brain regions active during creativity have been identified, with the prefrontal regions
being especially active regardless of effort.
●​ Brodmann's area (BA) 39 is active during the creation of stories from unrelated words
(requiring more creativity), suggesting involvement in verbal working memory, task
switching, and imagination.
●​ Selective thinning of cortical areas (left frontal lobe, lingual, cuneus, angular, inferior
parietal, fusiform gyri, including BA 39) correlates with higher creativity, likely influencing
information flow. Relative thickness in the right posterior cingulate gyrus and right
angular gyrus is also related to higher creativity.

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Reference: Sternberg, Robert J., Sternberg, Karin: (2017). Cognitive Psychology, 7th ed.
CENGAGE Learning, Canada.

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