1. How do we Problem Solve?

2. S P L O Y O C H Y G Algorithms
A rule or procedure that guarantees the right solution to a problem.
Usually by using a formula. They work but are sometimes impractical.
Example: long division, pedma
Let’s say you wanted to find oatmeal at the grocery store…using an algorithm, you would search every aisle until you found the oatmeal.
S P L O Y O C H Y G
If we were to unscramble these letters to form a word,
using an algorithm approach would
take 907,208 possibilities.

3. Heuristics A short cut (that can be prone to errors).
A rule-of-thumb strategy that often allows us to make judgments and solve problems efficiently.
A short cut (that can be prone to errors).
Who would you trust to baby-sit your child?
Finding the oatmeal…using a heuristic you would read the signs at the end of the aisles, look for cereal & look in that aisle 1st
Your answer is based on your heuristic of their appearances.

4. Frontal and Right Temporal Lobe
sudden realization of a solution to a problem
Frontal and Right Temporal Lobe
LOHWE
Fussy
Awash
Dampen
Expose
Talon
Align
Radius
Uproar

5. Insight: The “Aha” Moment
Insight and the Brain
In one study, participants monitored by fMRI and EEG were asked, “which word will form a compound word with the words pine, crab, and sauce?”
What the brains did along with the “aha!” of getting the answer:
extra frontal lobe activity
experiencing the “aha!” moment and stating the answer
a burst of activity in right temporal lobe (shown here)
Click to reveal bullets. Final click will flash an apple, which is the answer to the question in the study.
Previous editions of the book have noted that animals, especially primates, show sudden leaps in solution-making when confronted with complex problems. For example, they can realize that fruit can be reached by using a short stick to reach a longer stick that in turn can reach the fruit, or realize that boxes can be stacked and climbed. We don’t know if the animals feel the same sense of satisfaction as humans when they solve a problem.

6. Hurdles to problem solving

7. Confirmation Bias
A tendency to search for information that confirms one’s preconceptions.
For example, if you believe that during a full moon there is an increase in admissions to the emergency room where you work, you will take notice of admissions during a full moon, but be inattentive to the moon when admissions occur during other nights of the month.
You believe…your boyfriend is faithful…so rather than notice that he is often receiving text messages from other girls and isn’t as available for dates as he once was, you pay attention to the fact that the calls you once a day (even if it is for a few moments) and always brings you flowers when he is able to take you out on a date

8. Mental Sets
Tendency to approach a problem with the same mind set that has worked in the past
ex: when you push a door expecting it to open even though you have to pull it
Lacks Creativity
Example of a Fixed Mindset

10.
Functional Fixedness
Inability to perceive a new use for an object associated with a different purpose
ex: if someone needs a paperweight but only have a hammer, they may not see how the hammer can be used as a paperweight
Example of fixed mindsets & mental sets

11. Compared to convergent thinkers, to solve a problem divergent thinkers are more likely to:
a) Process information to arrive at the single best answer
b) Think creatively and generate multiple answers
c) Problem solve in a systematic step-by-step fashion
d) Frequently suffer from functional fixedness