Cover 1
Half-title 3
Title 5
Copyright 6
Contents 7
Contributors 9
Preface 11
PART 1 INTRODUCTION 15
1 Recognizing, Defining, and Representing Problems 17
THE PROBLEM-SOLVING CYCLE 17
CLASSES OF PROBLEMS 18
PROBLEM RECOGNITION, DEFINITION, AND REPRESENTATION 19
KNOWLEDGE 24
Everyday Knowledge and Problem Definition and Problem Representation 25
Expert Knowledge and Problem Definition and Problem Representation 27
Problem Recognition 29
COGNITIVE PROCESSES AND STRATEGIES 29
Processes in Problem Recognition 30
Processes in Problem Definition and Representation 31
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: ABILITIES AND DISPOSITIONS 35
SOCIAL CONTEXT 38
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 39
What We Know 39
What We Need to Know 41
REFERENCES 41
AUTHOR NOTE 44
2 The Acquisition of Expert Performance as Problem Solving 45
OUTLINE OF THE CHAPTER 48
Approaches to the Study of Problem Solving and Thinking: Historical Background 48
Initial Attempts to Study Thinking 50
Behaviorism and Studies of Thinking 51
Gestalt Psychology and Human Information-Processing Psychology 52
Some Conclusions From Traditional Laboratory Studies of Problem Solving 55
The Search for Generalizable Capacities and Processes 56
Do Basic, Invariant Processes and Capacities Mediate Performance on Laboratory Tasks? 59
Capturing Processes With Representative Tasks From Everyday Life: Another Approach 62
THE SCIENTIFIC STUDY OF EXPERT PERFORMANCE 62
Capturing Expert Performance Under Standardized Controlled Conditions 64
CAPTURED EXPERT PERFORMANCE AND PROBLEM SOLVING 66
Analysis of Superior Representative Performance With Experiments and Process Tracing 68
Analyzing Expert Performance in Chess 68
Expert Performance Characterized by Superior Speed 71
The Acquisition of Expert Performance Requiring Increased Control 73
Summary 74
Acquiring Expert Levels of Performance: The Role of Experience and Problem Solving 75
Skill Acquisition in Everyday Life and in the Laboratory 75
The Acquisition of Expert Performance 77
Necessary Conditions for the Acquisition of Expert-Level Performance: Experience and Deliberate Practice 78
The Acquisition of Mechanisms Mediating Expert Performance Through Deliberate Practice 81
Acquiring Mechanisms Mediating Expert Performance in Chess 84
Educational Systems Supporting the Development of Expert Performance in Music 85
CONCLUDING REMARKS 87
REFERENCES 90
AUTHOR NOTES 96
PART II RELEVANT ABILITIES AND SKILLS 99
3 Is Success or Failure at Solving Complex Problems Related to Intellectual Ability? 101
INTRODUCTION 101
DEFINITIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS 102
Simple and Complex Problems 102
Intellectual Ability 104
Evaluation Criteria 106
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN COMPLEX EXPLICIT PROBLEM SOLVING 107
CEPS and Global Intelligence 108
Evaluation of Approach 111
CEPS and Specific Intelligence Components 112
Evaluation of Approach 114
Global Intelligence and Expertise 115
Evaluation of Approach 117
Task and Subject Properties Affecting Complex Explicit Problem Solving 118
Semantic Embeddedness 119
Time Lag and Feedback Delay 119
Intervention vs. Observation 120
Strategies 121
Evaluation of Approach 122
IMPLICIT PROBLEM SOLVING 123
The Tasks 124
Empirical Evidence 125
Implicit Learning and Intellectual Ability 126
Doubts and Alternative Accounts 127
Evaluation of Approach 133
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 134
REFERENCES 135
4 Creativity: A Source of Difficulty in Problem Solving 141
NECESSITY IS THE MOTHER OF INVENTION 141
COGNITIVE AND CONATIVE FACTORS FOR CREATIVE THOUGHT 142
ENVIRONMENT 148
PUTTING TOGETHER COGNITIVE AND CONATIVE FACTORS 149
COGNITION AND CONATION IN ACTION: THE CREATIVE PROCESS 150
CREATIVITY AS A SOURCE OF DIFFICULTY IN PROBLEM SOLVING: ANOTHER LOOK 154
CONCLUSION 156
REFERENCES 157
5 Insights about Insightful Problem Solving 163
HISTORICAL CONTEXT FOR INSIGHT: THE GESTALT APPROACH 164
THE NOTHING-SPECIAL APPROACH 168
THE PUZZLE-PROBLEM APPROACH 170
Mental Processes 171
Selective Encoding 172
Selective Combination 172
Selective Comparison 173
The Roles of Incubation 175
Forgetting 176
Opportunistic Assimilation 177
The Role of Affect 177
THE GREAT-MINDS APPROACH 180
Intrinsic Motivation 180
Identification of an Impasse 181
Social Interaction 182
conclusions 183
REFERENCES 185
6 The Role of Working Memory in Problem Solving 190
THE GOAL AND ORGANIZATION OF THIS CHAPTER 191
WHAT IS A PROBLEM? 192
Working Memory as a Unifying Construct 193
Working Memory and Problem Solving 194
The Slave Systems 195
Comprehension 196
Reasoning 197
Insight Tasks 197
The Central Executive 198
Comprehension 199
Multiple Working Memory Capacities? 201
Reasoning and Fluid Intelligence 202
Insight Tasks 204
Problem Solving Difficulties 204
Adult Age and Problem-Solving Difficulties 206
Summary and Conclusion 206
WHEN IS WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IMPORTANT? 206
Dichotic Listening Task 207
Antisaccade Task 208
WHEN IS WORKING MEMORY CAPACITY IMPORTANT? A BROADER PERSPECTIVE 208
The Knowledge-Is-Power Hypothesis 209
Compensation Hypothesis 210
Basic Mechanism Hypothesis 210
Rich-Get-Richer Hypothesis 212
Relevant Evidence 212
Memory for Baseball Games 212
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS 214
REFERENCES 215
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 220
7 Comprehension of Text in Problem Solving 221
FIVE LEVELS OF TEXT REPRESENTATION 222
THE IMPORTANCE OF TEXT REPRESENTATION FOR PROBLEM SOLVING 225
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE READER IN COMPREHENDING TEXT FOR PROBLEM SOLVING 228
THREE CLASSES OF MODELS OF TEXT COMPREHENSION 232
Knowledge Structure Models 233
Construction-Integration Model 236
Embodied Cognition Model 238
REFERENCES 240
PART III STATES AND STRATEGIES 245
8 Motivating Self-Regulated Problem Solvers 247
EXPANDING CONCEPTIONS OF PROBLEM SOLVING 248
Problem Solving in Formal and Informal Contexts 248
Problem Solving by Experts and Novices 250
SELF-REGULATORY PROCESSES UNDERLYING PROBLEM SOLVING 252
Forethought Phase 253
Performance Phase 256
Self-Reflection Phase 257
Self-Regulation of Problem Solving in Informal Contexts 261
INVESTIGATING MONTIVATIONAL PROCESSES DURING PROBLEM SOLVING 262
Goal Setting 262
Self-Efficacy Expectations 264
Intrinsic Interest 265
Goal Orientation 265
Strategy Use 266
Self-Monitoring 267
Self-Evaluation Judgments 267
Attribution Judgments 268
EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS 269
CONCLUSION 270
REFERENCES 271
9 Feeling and Thinking: Implications for Problem Solving 277
INTRODUCTION 277
ELEMENTS OF PROBLEM SOLVING 277
AFFECT, MOODS, AND EMOTIONS 278
FEELINGS AND EVALUATIONS 279
Moods 280
Implications for Problem Solving 281
Is There a Problem? 281
Am I Likely to Attain the Goal? 282
How Am I Doing? 282
Accepting a Solution 283
Summary 283
FEELINGS AND PROCESSING STYLES: COGNITIVE TUNING 283
Moods 284
An Illustration: Moods and the Use of Scripts 286
Bodily Feedback 287
Situational Cues 287
Implications for Problem Solving 288
Person Perception 289
Persuasion 289
Covariation Detection 290
Analytic Reasoning Tasks and Logic Problems 290
Decision Making 291
Categorization 292
Remote Associates 293
Creativity and Insight 293
Analogies 294
Summary 294
FEELINGS AND THOUGHT CONTENT: AFFECTIVE TONE 294
Implications for Problem Solving 295
A NOTE ON SPECIFIC EMOTIONS 296
Emotions as a Source of Information 297
Emotions and Processing Style 297
CONCLUDING REMARKS 298
REFERENCES 298
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 304
10 The Fundamental Computational Biases of Human Cognition 305
THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTATIONAL BIASES 308
Automatic Contextualization: The Use of Prior Knowledge and Context 308
The Tendency to \u201cSocialize\u201d Abstract Problems 315
Seeing Intentional Design in Random Events 319
The Narrative Mode of Thought 323
THE EVOLUTIONARY ADAPTIVENESS OF THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTATIONAL BIASES 325
FACILITATING REASONING BY FITTING PROBLEMS TO THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTATIONAL BIASES 327
THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTATIONAL BIASES AND THE PROBLEMS OF MODERN SOCIETY 333
ABSTRACTION AND THE FUNDAMENTAL COMPUTATIONAL BIASES IN EDUCATION 341
REFERENCES 345
ACKNOWLEDGMENT 356
11 Analogical Transfer in Problem Solving 357
SIMILARITY IN SURFACE AND STRUCTURE 357
EFFECTS OF SURFACE AND STRUCTURAL SIMILARITY ON ACCESS AND APPLICATION 360
Spontaneous Transfer 361
Informed Transfer 363
UNDERSTANDING AND STRUCTURAL ABSTRACTION 366
EFFECTS OF SURFACE ON STRUCTURAL ABSTRACTION 369
Inferred Symmetry and Asymmetry 371
Inferred Continuity and Discreteness 374
SUMMARY AND CONCLUDING REMARKS 378
REFERENCES 380
PART IV CONCLUSIONS AND INTEGRATION 385
12 Problem Solving \u2013 Large/Small, Hard/Easy, Conscious/Nonconscious, Problem-Space/ Problem-Solver 387
REFERENCES 396
Index 399