{"id":210,"date":"2015-02-06T23:15:46","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T23:15:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/ospsych\/?post_type=chapter&p=210"},"modified":"2017-05-22T22:13:35","modified_gmt":"2017-05-22T22:13:35","slug":"problem-solving","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-fmcc-intropsych\/chapter\/problem-solving\/","title":{"raw":"Solving Problems","rendered":"Solving Problems"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n
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  • Describe problem solving strategies, including algorithms and heuristics<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Explain some common roadblocks to effective problem solving<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nPeople face problems every day\u2014usually, multiple problems throughout the day. Sometimes these problems are straightforward: To double a recipe for pizza dough, for example, all that is required is that each ingredient in the recipe be doubled. Sometimes, however, the problems we encounter are more complex. For example, say you have a work deadline, and you must mail a printed copy of a report to your supervisor by the end of the business day. The report is time-sensitive and must be sent overnight. You finished the report last night, but your printer will not work today. What should you do? First, you need to identify the problem and then apply a strategy for solving the problem.\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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    Problem-Solving Strategies<\/h2>\r\nWhen you are presented with a problem\u2014whether it is a complex mathematical problem or a broken printer, how do you solve it? Before finding a solution to the problem, the problem must first be clearly identified. After that, one of many problem solving strategies can be applied, hopefully resulting in a solution.\r\n\r\nA problem-solving strategy<\/strong> is a plan of action used to find a solution. Different strategies have different action plans associated with them. For example, a well-known strategy is trial and error<\/strong>. The old adage, \u201cIf at first you don\u2019t succeed, try, try again\u201d describes trial and error. In terms of your broken printer, you could try checking the ink levels, and if that doesn\u2019t work, you could check to make sure the paper tray isn\u2019t jammed. Or maybe the printer isn\u2019t actually connected to your laptop. When using trial and error, you would continue to try different solutions until you solved your problem. Although trial and error is not typically one of the most time-efficient strategies, it is a commonly used one.\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Table 1. Problem-Solving Strategies<\/caption>\r\n
    Method<\/th>\r\nDescription<\/th>\r\nExample<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n
    Trial and error<\/td>\r\nContinue trying different solutions until problem is solved<\/td>\r\nRestarting phone, turning off WiFi, turning off bluetooth in order to determine why your phone is malfunctioning<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Algorithm<\/td>\r\nStep-by-step problem-solving formula<\/td>\r\nInstruction manual for installing new software on your computer<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Heuristic<\/td>\r\nGeneral problem-solving framework<\/td>\r\nWorking backwards; breaking a task into steps<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\nAnother type of strategy is an algorithm. An algorithm<\/strong> is a problem-solving formula that provides you with step-by-step instructions used to achieve a desired outcome (Kahneman, 2011). You can think of an algorithm as a recipe with highly detailed instructions that produce the same result every time they are performed. Algorithms are used frequently in our everyday lives, especially in computer science. When you run a search on the Internet, search engines like Google use algorithms to decide which entries will appear first in your list of results. Facebook also uses algorithms to decide which posts to display on your newsfeed. Can you identify other situations in which algorithms are used?\r\n\r\nA heuristic<\/strong> is another type of problem solving strategy. While an algorithm must be followed exactly to produce a correct result, a heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. A \u201crule of thumb\u201d is an example of a heuristic. Such a rule saves the person time and energy when making a decision, but despite its time-saving characteristics, it is not always the best method for making a rational decision. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, but the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):\r\n
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    • When one is faced with too much information<\/li>\r\n \t
    • When the time to make a decision is limited<\/li>\r\n \t
    • When the decision to be made is unimportant<\/li>\r\n \t
    • When there is access to very little information to use in making the decision<\/li>\r\n \t
    • When an appropriate heuristic happens to come to mind in the same moment<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\nWorking backwards<\/strong> is a useful heuristic in which you begin solving the problem by focusing on the end result. Consider this example: You live in Washington, D.C. and have been invited to a wedding at 4 PM on Saturday in Philadelphia. Knowing that Interstate 95 tends to back up any day of the week, you need to plan your route and time your departure accordingly. If you want to be at the wedding service by 3:30 PM, and it takes 2.5 hours to get to Philadelphia without traffic, what time should you leave your house? You use the working backwards heuristic to plan the events of your day on a regular basis, probably without even thinking about it.\r\n
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      Link to Learning<\/h3>\r\nWhat problem-solving method could you use to solve Einstein's famous riddle?\r\n