CogSci Problem Solving Module

C. rule(s) of strategy

C. intelligent, selective searching

A. examine all possible alternatives to reaching the goal

c. examine only the more promising alternatives to reaching the goal

A. similarity to the goal state

D. mistakenly believes that the structure of the argument is sufficient to sustain validity

A. incorrectly manipulating correctly represented information

C. subjects misinterpret the conditional statement as a biconditional

C. instance theory

A. converting 'ALL A ARE B' to 'ALL B ARE A'

C. produce a solution for the target problem that resembles the solution for the base problem

C. subjects usually need a hint to see the relevance of the base problem solution for resolving the target problem

B. subjects can abstract the relevant structural features when presented with several instances of the problem and solution

A. structural properties

D. all of the above

an encoding theory which explains mistakes in reasoning in terms of incomplete representation of information open to multiple interpretations

• a processing theory which explains errors in judging the validity of categorical syllogisms in terms of misleading expectations surrounding certain characteristics of the premises (for example, the fact that both premises are universal will lead to acceptance of universal conclusions which do not follow
• validly)

in assessing the transferability of learning, subjects often first work one problem (the base problem) and then work a second problem (the target problem) as a test of whether working the first problem contributed to success in solving the second problem

a search which aims to examine every possible path in the attempt to reach a problem's goal state (contrast with heuristic search)

• in assessing the transferability of
• learning,
• subjects often first work one problem (the base problem) and then work
• a second problem (the target problem) as a test of whether
• working
• the first problem contributed to success in solving the second problem

statements of an 'IF...Then...' form (for example, 'if it's raining then the streets are wet')

an error made in judging the validity of an argument; the error results from focusing on the truth or falsity of a statement, usually the conclusion, rather than the logical relation between premise(s) and conclusion (contrast with form error)

an encoding theory which postulates that many reasoning errors occur when subjects reason correctly from inappropriately represented premises; in particular, subjects often invalidly convert statements of the form 'if p then q' to statements of the form 'if q then p'

an instance of a state-transition problem in which the goal is to substitute one digit integers for letters of the alphabet in ways that obey arithmetic rules

a cognitive theory that explains errors, as in the making of validity judgments, in terms of correctly manipulating poorly represented information; (contrast with processing theories)

an error made in judging the validity of an argument; the error occurs when the reasoner mistakenly believes that the form of the argument is sufficient to sustain validity when it is not, or vice versa (contrast with content error)

a search which aims to find a path from a problem's start state to its goal state by examining only some of the total alternatives or search space (contrast with brute force search)

a characteristic of problem structure which supports the breaking down of a problem into an organized series of simpler sub-tasks, and those simpler tasks into a set of still simpler tasks, with this process continuing unitl the tasks are so simple as to be executed by some elementary information process

a means of guiding the search for a problem solution by exploring states that more closely resemble the goal state before states bearing less resemblance to the goal state (see heuristic search)

the view that, when confronted with a general or abstract rule, people associate specific personal experiences with the rule and use them to guide their reasoning, as when facing the selection task

A variant of the missionaries and cannibals problem which involves moving three husbands, plus the one wife of each, across a river by means of a two person boat. An important restriction is that a wife, when not in the presence of her husband, cannot be in the presence of another husband unless his wife is also present.

a heuristic search technique that avoids the difficulty of local highs by postulating a series of sub-goals that systematically identify and reduce the distance between a given state and the goal state.

a processing theory which explains performance on validity judgment tasks in terms of understanding general statements by means of concrete instances (models) and the using of those instances to support logical inferences

a state-transition problem in which the objective is to move 3 missionaries and 3 cannibals across a river by means of a two person boat, while never allowing cannibals to outnumber missionaries on either side of the river

the set of all possible states that can be reached from a problem's starting state by following the problem's transition rule(s); (synonymous with search space)

a cognitive theory that explains errors, as in the making of validity judgments, in terms of incorrectly manipulating accurately represented information (contrast with encoding theories)

a means of systematically collecting and categorizing observations of human behavior, for example when solving a problem, and then using those observations to produce explanatory hypotheses.

a set of general principles, sequences of events, or expectations that characterize a type of event or situation; often a schema may consist of the essential characteristics (structural properties) that define a situation

the recognition of the essential characteristics that define a situation; this recognition results from observing several specific situations of that type

the set of all possible states that can be reached from a problem's starting state by following the problem's transition rule(s); (synonymous with problem space)

a logical reasoning task in which a subject is presented with a conditional (if...then...) statement along with four conditions that may be relevant to testing the statement; the objective is for the subject to select only those conditions germane to determining the truth or falsity of the given conditional statement

In state transition terms, a problem is defined by means of three components: 1) a starting state, 2) a goal state, and 3) a set of transition rules that govern moves from one state to another

a feature of a problem and its solution that is essential to what makes the solution a resolution of the problem (contrast with surface property)

a state which clearly leads to a desired goal in problem solving and which itself thus becomes a goal or objective during the search process

a feature of a problem and its solution that is irrelevant to what makes the solution a resolution of the problem (contrast with structural property)

in assessing the transferability of learning, subjects often first work one problem (the base problem) and then work a second problem (the target problem) as a test of whether working the first problem contributed to success in solving the second problem

the general finding that subjects reason more accurately when dealing with concrete, as opposed to abstract, subject matter

a state-transition problem or game in which the ojbective is to move discs from one peg to another while observing a transition rule which clearly defines restrictions on moving the discs

a property which applies to a deductive argument (or inference) when the conclusion of the argument follows necessarily from its premise(s)