1. Thinking Problem solving activities:
There is a small room. There is a window in the room that is open. There is a table in the room. There is broken glass on the floor. There is also water all over the floor. There are two dead bodies on the floor. What happened?
Matchstick problem – give each group 6 match sticks. How would you arrange six matches to form four equilateral triangles.
Candle mounting problem: using the materials how would you mount the candle on a bulletin board?

2. Cognition
Cognition – all mental activities associated with thinking, knowing, remembering and communicating
Example: Thinking how to solve the candle problem
Cognitive psychologist – study how we create concepts, solve problems, make decisions and form judgments
Example: Identifying ways to improve someone’s memory

3. Our concept of men may include all of the following guys….
What is thought?
Concepts – mental groupings of similar objects, events, ideas and people
Example: Animals
Category hierarchies – collection of subordinate categories to a basic category
Example: Birds, Fish, Mammals, Reptiles, etc.
Prototypes – mental image or best example of a category
Example: Prototype of a bird…A robin, of course!
Students – create a list of the different concepts in the classroom. Narrow down all of the concepts into the simplest concept possible – furniture, shelving, books, electronics, . Form different groups to come up with one class list
But they are based on our prototype (ideal) male…..

4. Concept and Prototype Practice
Respond to the category with the very first example that comes to mind
A bird
A color
A triangle (drawing a picture is fine)
A motor vehicle
A sentence
A hero
A Heroic action
A game
A philosopher
A writer
Provide a category hierarchy for the following concepts
People
Transportation
Animals
Classroom
Holiday

5. Problem Solving Strategies
Types of problem solving strategies
Trial and Error
Algorithms
Heuristics
Insight
Problem solving activity

6. Problem Solving Strategies
Algorithm – step by step procedure that guarantees the right solution to a problem.
Usually by using a formula.
Work, but time consuming
Don’t work – subjective values or too many unknowns
Example – finding the combination to a lock by trying every possible combination starting with 0-0-0

7. Problem Solving Strategies
Heuristic - A rule of thumb that generally, but not always, can be used to make a judgment to solve a problem.
Fast, but prone to errors
Doesn’t guarantee a solution
Two types of heuristics
Representative heuristic*
Availability Heuristic*
Examples – “Always stick with your first answer”, “i before e except after c”

8. Types of Problem solving
Insight – sudden realization of the solution to a problem
Doesn’t involve strategy based solutions
Examples:
Did you hear about the guy whose whole left side was cut off? He's all right now.
Did you see the sign at the drug rehab center? It said keep off the grass
sudden comprehension of a double meaning pun
Kohler’s chimpanzee

9. Trial and Error
Trial and error - experimentation or investigation in which various methods or means are tried and faulty ones eliminated in order to find the correct solution
Example: Thomas Edison tried thousands of random light bulb filaments until he found one that would work.

10. Problem Solving Strategies
Give an example using each of the problem solving strategies to
Find granola bars in the Supermarket
Fix your Computer
Build a Bridge
Car doesn’t start

11. Hurdles to problem solving
Mental Set
Fixation
Functional fixedness
Availability Heuristic
Representative Heuristic
Confirmation Bias
Overconfidence
Belief Perseverance
Framing

12. Confirmation Bias
We look for evidence to confirm our beliefs and ignore evidence that contradicts them.
Example: believes that all Italians are in shape and go tanning, then they turn on MTV…oh its true or is it?
Look…I knew it was true!!!
But is it really?

13. Fixation
Fixation - Inability to solve a problem from a new perspective
Examples
1. Matchstick problem
2. Functional Fixedness - The inability to see a new use for an object
Example: when solving the candle-mounting problem, you fail to recognize that the matchbox can have other functions besides holding matches
3. Mental set –tendency to approach a problem with the same mind set that has worked in the past
Example: Mr. Gielink so often uses threats to get his children to do chores, he fails to recognize that rewards would be more effective

14. Mental Set Mental Set # 1 Mental Set #2
There are 6 eggs in a basket. Six people take one of the eggs each. How is it that one egg can still be left in the basket?
Mental Set #2
What occurs once in June, twice in August, but never in October?

15. Mental Set # 3
A hunter sees a bear 1 mile due south. He shoots and misses, and the bear runs off. The hunter walks the 1 mile south to where the bear had been, then 1 mile due east, then 1 mile due north—at which point the hunter is standing again at exactly the same spot from which the gun had been fired. What color was the bear?

16. Task #1 – Linda is 31, single, outspoken, and very bright
Task #1 – Linda is 31, single, outspoken, and very bright. She majored in philosophy in college. As a student, she was deeply concerned with discrimination and other social issues, and she participated in antinuclear demonstrations. Which statement is more likely? A) Linda is a bank teller B) Linda is a bank teller and active in the feminist movement.
Suggestive of a performer and thus a trapeze artist, however, the base rate of any of the other options is significantly higher, making it more likely that Rudy is a member of any one of the other occupations.

17. Representativeness Heuristic
Representative Heuristic - Judging a situation based on how similar the aspects are to the prototypes the person holds in their mind.
Like thinking everyone at Gilmore is preppy, or someone with glasses is nerdy, or a blonde is not smart…you better not think that!
May lead us to disregard probability info that is relevant to our judgments
Who went to Harvard?
Mr. Rivera is a smart dude, but did not go to Harvard (he looks like he did).
If I tell you that Sonia Dara is a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, you would make certain quick judgments (heuristics) about her…like about her interests or intelligence.
She is an economics major at Harvard University.

18. Availability Heuristic
Which place would you be more scared of getting mugged or even murdered?
Availability Heuristic - Judging a situation based on how readily we remember instances of its occurrence
Recent, vivid, or distinct examples in the news often cause an availability heuristic.
Cleveland
Example: The crime rate of Cleveland is MUCH higher than the New York. But when you think of crime, which town comes to mind?
New York, NY

19. Availability Heuristic
Readily available images cause us to fear extremely rare events
Example: We fear swimming in water because we replay JAWS in our heads
Leads us to forget about probability
Fear immediate rather than future

20. Overconfidence
Overconfidence – tendency overestimate the accuracy of our knowledge and judgment
Example:
Freshman who say they will never gain the “Freshman 15”
Underestimating how long it will take you to do your vocab
How well you did on a test

21. Belief Perseverance
Belief Perseverance – sticking with our beliefs even after they’ve been discredited
Elaborating on your own personal views can contribute to belief perseverance
To eliminate – consider the opposite
Example: Cleveland Browns fans who continue to believe the Brownies will win a title
You always want to make a good 1st impression….why?

22. Divide the following terms between you and your partner, then explain and provide an example for each. Share your answers with your partner
Mental Set
Fixation
Functional fixedness
Availability Heuristic
Representative Heuristic
Confirmation Bias
Overconfidence
Belief Perseverance

23. Intuition
Intuition – Automatic, immediate feeling or thought (gut feel)
Valuable – quick decisions, but can cause irrational decision
Examples:
Having a "gut feeling" that something would occur.
The phone rang, and you just knew who it was going to be.
You're out shopping and you feel that someone is looking at you, when you turn to look, he /she turns away.

24. Framing Examples: Framing – The way an issue is posed.
90% of the population will be saved with this medication…..or 10% of the population will die despite this medication.
You should not drink more than two drinks per day….or You should not drink more than 730 drinks a year.
20 percent chance of rain or an 80% chance that it won’t rain
Framing – The way an issue is posed.
can drastically effect the way we view it.

25. Obstacles to Problem Solving
You are the commissioner of a state lottery system that sponsors daily and weekly drawings. Lottery tickets have not been selling well over the past few months. Describe two ways you could take advantage of the power of the availability heuristic and framing to boost sales.

26. Solving Problems
Creativity – the ability to create novel and valuable ideas
Little correlation between creativity and intelligence.
Example : Eiffel Tower, Ferris Wheel,
Convergent Thinking – generating a single correct answer (parietal lobe)
Example: AP Psych Exam
Divergent Thinking – generating multiple possible answers to a problem (frontal lobe)
Example: Uses for a paper clip

27. Creativity Strernberg’s five components Expertise
Imaginative thinking skills
A venturesome personality
Intrinsic motivation
Overjustification Effect – when extrinsically motivated to do something that you are already intrinsically motivated to do, you lose interest in the task
A creative environment

28. Creativity
Your friend complains, “I wish I could be more creative, but I don't think there's anything I can do about it.” Use the components of creativity described by Robert Sternberg to advise your friend about at least two of the behaviors associated with increased creativity.