Problem solving
When an individual has a goal to achieve and more than one means exist to achieve the goal, it can be said that he has a problem to solve. The interest of psychology is centered mainly in problems that can be solved mentally by the manipulation of symbols. To determine strategies that people use in these cases, scientists may examine testimonies about how problems were solved, may observe the outcome of experiments under varying conditions, or may ask people to think aloud as they solve problems. Theoretical models are then devised using the data that they gather.
The problem solving process is not always open to consciousness. Even if the process is initiated by rigorous reasoning, the solution may suddenly spring out of nowhere. Acknowledging this fact, Graham Wallas proposed a four-step model: preparation, incubation, illumination, and verification. Preparation involves the definition of the problem and the analysis of the alternatives. Incubation is a period when attention is deliberately turned to other things, but it is supposed that elaboration goes on unconsciously. Illumination means the sudden appearance of the solution into conscience. Finally, the solution is verified to see if it will work.
The first experimental studies on problem solving were carried out by the Gestalt psychologists. The psychological school known as Gestalt, that originated in Germany prior to World War I and that emphasized the experimental approach, must not be mistaken with a form of psychotherapy that appeared in the last half of the twentieth century. Researchers such as Kurt Kofka (1886-1941), Wolfgang Kohler (1887-1967), and Max Wertheimer (1880-1943) studied how the process of perception is determined by context, configuration and meaning. Karl Duncker said that each step in the solution is essentially a reformulation of the original problem.
These psychologists acknowledged that perception is more than the mere accumulation of sensory data, and hence the name they adopted--'Gestalt' can be translated as 'configuration.' They identified new perceptual phenomena and wrote precise accounts of how humans and chimpanzees face problematic situations. They emphasized the difference between solving a problem by insight and by the blind application of rules. Wertheimer gave the following example: a child that has been taught to calculate the area of a rectangle is asked to calculate the area of a parallelogram. He knows that the area of the rectangle is the product of the long side by the short side. If he applies blindly this rule to the parallelogram, he will fail. However, he may see that a triangle can be cut from one end and tucked to the other to make a rectangle. He may then apply his old formula replacing the short side by the height of the parallelogram.
Lately, the mathematician Gyorgy Polya introduced the idea of general techniques, that he called 'heuristics,' to aid in problem solving. For example, one of such heuristics would be working backward from the solution. Generally one knows from where he starts and where he must arrive. Instead of going in the forward direction, one may begin with the solution and think what is necessary for that solution to exist. Another technique could be trying to find an intermediate state that may be more easy to reach, and attacking that goal first.
The appearance of a branch of computer science called 'artificial intelligence' has made available computer programs that try to solve problems that were previously thought as suitable only for humans. Psychologists have gained from these programs new ideas with respect to the laws that rule human problem solving.
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