TROUBLESHOOTING

Teacher: Carolina Mora

Psychology - UCV
 What is a problem?

I don't understand
what your problem
Duncker (1948): is! Speak more
“A problem arises when an organism has an objective and does not know how clearly.
to achieve it”

Lester (1983):
“a situation that an individual or a group wants or needs to resolve and for which there is no quick and direct path to the
solution”
Troubleshooting cycle

Resource allocation
Organization of information about the problem
1. Problem identification : It consists of realizing that there is a
problem or need that can be solved. Sometimes it is hard work.
Example: We might need to stay out of the way of a vehicle we
haven't seen.

iNoliThe answer is It's still a lot.

eleven bottles! ELEVEN!! You should seek help.
For us to have a problem we need:

Look, the problem is simple. If

I have five bottles in one hand
and with
and six bottles in the other,
what do I have? the
drink?

• A path drawn to achieve • An

impediment that blocks us from
achieving the objective.
2. Definition and representation of the problem: An inaccurate definition of the problem
can lead to solutions that are not effective, however an accurate definition identifies the
characteristics of the problem, determines its consequences, and is based on the
difference between the current situation and the one in which we should have, and it
consists of a global measure of the problem: how often it occurs, how many there are,
when it happens

Relevant questions:
• What is the problem
• What are the causes? What caused it?
• What are your limits?
• When the problem occurs, When it first appeared
• Where it happens
• Who is currently dealing with the problem? Who is responsible for finding the
solution?
 3. Formulation of the strategy: once the problem has been defined effectively, it must be
propose the strategy to solve it. This may involve: analysis or synthesis

Analysis , separating a complex problem into Synthesis , bringing together various

manageable elements. elements to organize them into something
useful.
 ■ 4. Organization of information: you try to
integrate all the information you will need to
perform the task effectively. This stage can be
maintained throughout the cycle to constantly
organize and reconstitute the available
information.

Organization
of
information

Definition of
Selection of
Definition of Sentence
Definition of
the parts support order structure
the general
material outline
 LESSON FOR GOOD MANAGEMENT

5. Resource Allocation: Most of us face the situation of having limited resources, these means include
time, money, equipment and space, we need to know when to allocate which resources.

Expert problem solvers (and top students) tend to devote more of "NEVER START A PROJECT
their mental resources to big-picture planning than novices. By WITHOUT VERIFYING
RESOURCES”
spending more time doing what to do, effective students are less
likely to fall prey to frustrated starts, winding routes, and all kinds of
errors.
6. Monitoring: continually check to make sure you are approaching the goal, if not,
reevaluate what you are doing.

Quarterly
monitoring

Monthly
monitoring
7. Evaluations : Just as you need to monitor a
problem while you are in the process of solving
it, you need to examine your solution after you
are done.
 show clear paths to solutions. These problems are
also known as well-defined problems.
How do you find the area of a figure?

a particular type of well-structured problem: movement problems, so called

because they require a series of movements or steps
They lack toclear
achieve a final
solution
goal. paths. They are also known
Well structured as issues evil
defined.
poorly structured How do you tie two hanging
Main errors example ropes when none of them
they is it
Move back Move all orcs
long and all
enough to hobbits back
allow you to to the
Types of problems hold
first side of the
theother?
river.
Make illegal moves Have more than two individuals in the
boat
Stay stuck without knowing what to do
Not realizing the nature of the next move
In order to better understand how human beings solve well-defined problems,
computer simulation programs are created.
INITIAL k
Whoever solves the problem (human or artificial intelligence) must consider the initial
STATUS and
state of the problem and the state of the goal, as well as the problem space.

LLI
The problem space is the universe of ALL possible actions that can be applied to
solve a problem.
TOWER OF HANOI
PROBLEM SPACE

IAILlIIELALIILIIA FINAL
CONDITION
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 Algorithm In everyday life, they are used
frequently
It is a strategy carried out
step by step to achieve a algorithms for solve
particular objective. issues. An example is user
manuals, which show
An algorithm guarantees algorithms for using a device, or
definition the achievement of instructions for carrying out a
what it is about food recipe.
get.

Strategies to solve
a problem
Heuristic ability is a
characteristic trait of humans,
Heuristic from whose point of view it can
It is a procedure for be described as the
solve a problem by art and scienc of
an informal approach and discovery and
eof the
invention of solve
intuitive that sometimes
lead to the solution of a problems through
problem and others not. divergent
lateral the
creativity. thought thought
 Heuristic Definition Example applied to an everyday
Example applied to the movement problem: how to travel from your home
problem to another place using the nearest route
direct possible
Means-end analysis The problem solver analyzes it by Try to take as many people as possible to Try to reduce the distance between your
observing the end, the goal that the far shore and leave as few people as home and the destination
can be sought, and then tries to possible on the near shore.
reduce the distance between the
current position and the final goal
in the problem space.

Job The problem solver tries to solve Find the possible air routes that will take
Carefully evaluate the situation with the six
the problem from beginning to end. you from your home to the destination and
people on one bank and then try to move
toward take the ones that seem most direct
them step by step to the opposite bank.
forward
Work backwards The solver of problem Find the possible air routes that lead to the
Start with the final state, with all the hobbits
start from the end and try to work destination and work backwards to
and all the orcs on the far shore, and try to
backwards discover which of them is the most direct
return to the initial state.
from your home.
Build and test The troubleshooter only generates This method works quite well on the
courses of action problem of movement because Find possible alternative routes to get you
alternatives, not necessarily in a Most process steps are only allowed a from home, then consider which of them
systematic way, and then displacement you could use to get to your destination.
recognize which course of action toward Choose the most direct route.
will work forward and never further of two Unfortunately, given the number of
possibilities, which in the long run would possible air route combinations, this
lead to the solution heuristic may not be useful.
 Isomorphic problems

Its formal structure is the same and only its content differs.

Sometimes the isomorphism is obvious, as in the case of hobbits and orcs and missionaries and cannibals, in which the latter eat
the former when they outnumber them.

It is often extremely difficult to observe the underlying isomorphism in the structure of problems.

The problem of recognizing isomorphisms between different contexts leads us to recurring impediments in the representation of
problems.
 Obstacles in the representation of a problem

What is the main reason why some problems are easier to solve

than other isomorphic ones? Your claim on working memory

Consider the different versions of a problem known as the Tower of

Hanoi. The physically different sizes of the disks facilitated the

mental representation of not placing a large disk on top of a smaller

one.
 Ill-structured problems and the role of insight

In particular, these types of problems (poorly structured) are called insight problems. To solve each one
you need to contemplate the problem in a new way, it requires considering them in a different way from
how you would probably do it in the first instance and different from how you might
It would solve problems in
general.

Arrange the 6 matches so that they form 4 equilateral triangles

 candle problem

With these items, mount the candle on the wall

Solution to the candle problem
 rope problem

Take the two ends of the rope

epjano ep euuqoud e uojonos
 Distinctive insight and sometimes
understanding
seemingly sudden and novel of a
problem

Experience of
Neo Gestaltists insight vs insight
Three
There is something processes. Insight is the
special in The insights are of 3 understanding of
the problems that classe problem that can
resolved by Coding s involve experience
Gestaltists. insight that differs selective. H of insight or
from select only th
E processes
Insight is a type of problems highlights normal cognitive
thought Nothing e
routine. for the solution of a The experience of
productive, in which special.
Insight is the problem
the subject must The solvers insight is a
process product experts exhibited Comparison restructuring
with associations
break thinking little capacity selective. H abrupt mental
existing Ordinary predict your
(thought relates to mannerE
probability of success novel th Problems
reproductive) and routines can
the shape problem and information recent
e
perceive require insight
original they did not show with the previous one
increase in your analogies) but not of the
(use of insight experience.
perception of
Combination But the problems
proximity to the
solution in the selective are poorly structured yes
in a novel way
combined require the
problems that
required insight items insight experience
although they could do
it
in the problems
routine
 Obstacles to problem solving

Mental rigidity or entrenchment Functional

fixation

mental framework that implies the existence is the inability to realize

of a model to represent a that something that is known has a use
problem, a context of it or a particular. It can also be used
procedure to solve it. to perform other functions.

When you solve mental rigidity you can

The stereotypes think about using a clothespin to open
a car
 Positive and negative transfer

f EE 111.1 E Eh transfer is Negative transfer: Yo YO' 1

any transfer of knowledge or occurs when solving a The police may have
skills from one problem previous problem makes it difficulties in solving a
situation to another. difficult political crime because it
solve a later one differs
of the kind of crimes with
those who are used to
to deal
—
Transfer positive:
happens when the solution to a and
previous problem makes it You can apply your
easier to solve a new problem general knowledge about
psychology to prepare
to study for an exam
of cognitive psychology
«
 Transfer of analogies

The researchers designed positive transfer studies that included

analogies

Problem 1
The radiation problem
You are a doctor treating a patient with a
malignant tumor in the stomach. He cannot
operate due to the severity of the cancer. But
unless you destroy the tumor in some way, the
patient will die.
It could use high-intensity X-rays to destroy the
tumor. Unfortunately, the intensity of X-rays Problem 2
required to do so would also destroy healthy The military problem
tissue. Lower intensity X-rays avoid damaging A general wants to assault a fortress located in the center of a
healthy tissue but will be insufficient to destroy country. There are many paths outside the fortress. They have all
the tumor. Your problem is coming up with a been mined. Although small groups of men can safely pass
procedure that will destroy the tumor without through these paths,
also destroying the healthy tissue around it. any larger group would detonate the mines. A large-scale direct
attack is therefore impossible. What should the general do?
 The researchers found that the
usefulness of an analogous problem
depends on the person's mental
rigidity, the way they approach
situations.

They also found that positive

transference was improved if two
analogous problems were provided,
rather than one, before the problem.

When the analogy was not

presented, less than 10%
solved the problem. When the
analogy was presented, about
75% managed to solve it
 As children grow,
their ability to
form and apply
analogies
improves.

Search of

analogies
When looking for Transparency is
analogies, we the phenomenon
must remember by which people
that what matters is
not the similarity of
see analogies
the content but of where none
the structure. exist.
Incubation:
Suppose you are unable to solve a problem. None of the strategies you think of seem to work. Try to put
the problem aside to incubate it
Incubation consists of putting the problem aside for a moment without consciously thinking about it,
offering a way to minimize negative transference.
Several possible mechanisms have been proposed for the beneficial effects of
incubation:
1 . When we don't keep something in active memory for long, we miss some
unimportant details . We keep only the most significant aspects in memory, so
very few of the limitations of previous mental rigidity remain.
2 As time passes, newer memories become integrated with existing ones. During this
reintegration, some associations of mental rigidity may weaken .
3 .As time passes, new stimuli, both internal and external, can unleash new
perspectives on the problem. These stimuli can weaken the effects of mental
rigidity.
4 . An external or internal stimulus may lead the problem solver to glimpse an analogy
between the problem of interest and another. As a result, a comparable solution
may be found or an already known solution may be applied.
5 When problem solvers are in a state of low cortical activation, increases in attention
span, and perhaps working memory capacity, may allow remote cues to be
perceived and simultaneously held in active memory. This way the person can think
about cues that they might otherwise perceive as irrelevant.
 Neuropsychology of planning in problem solving:

■ The frontal lobes and in particular the prefrontal cortex are considered
essential for planning complex problem-solving tasks since studies
carried out applying neuropsychological methods, including magnetic
resonance imaging and positron emission topography, show relevant
activation in this region of the brain during The solution of problems.

■ During problem solving, when a participant presents an incorrect

answer, he or she reveals greater prefrontal and bilateral activity
associated with the correct answer. This means that if the initial plan
fails, a new one must be formulated, thus activating the prefrontal
cortex.
Expertise is the ability and experience in a certain 7
subject.

What interests cognitive psychologists is the reason

why expertise improves problem solving.
 Knowledge organization

Experts have schemes

of knowledge bigger and better
organized than newbies
Knowledge elaboration
Expert
ise

Experts spend more time than

Establishment of the problem novices to determine how
represent the problem

experts become more

efficient and precise in solving
Automation. From the problems, since when releasing the
consolidation of sequences working memory capacity
Steps, They can monitor their progress
form problem solving
precise
Experts
Newbies
They have large and enriched schemes with a large
Relatively impoverished schemes with less knowledge
amount of knowledge
Well organized knowledge units Dispersed knowledge units
They spend more time determining what the problem is They invest more time in executing the strategy
They develop representations naive of the
They develop sophisticated representations of the
problems based on superficial similarities
problems based on structural similarities between them

They work forward from the information given, to They work backwards, focusing on the unknown to find
implement strategies that allow them to find the the problem-solving strategy.
unknown
They choose a strategy based on an elaborate problem
strategy scheme. They use means-end analysis as a They use means-end analysis as a strategy to handle
backup strategy most problems and sometimes choose a strategy based
on knowledge of problem strategies.
The schemes they contain great amount of The schemes they contain bit knowledge
procedural knowledge procedural
Experts Newbies
They have automated several sequences of steps They show little or no automation
within the problem strategy
They show relatively inefficiency in problem solving, they
They handle highly efficient problem solving: they impose solve problems less quickly
time limits and solve problems faster than novices
They do not accurately predict the difficulty of solving
Accurately predict difficulty in solving particular problems particular problems
They carefully monitor their own problem-solving They show poor monitoring of their own problem-solving
strategies and processes strategies and processes.
They show great precision in achieving appropriate They exhibit much less precision than experts in achieving
solutions appropriate solutions
When face issues very unusual with
When confronted with very unusual problems with atypical
characteristics atypical , the newbies they
features, they take relatively more time than novices to
dedicate
represent the problem and to retrieve appropriate problem
relatively less time to represent the problem and to retrieve
strategies.
problem strategies
When provided with recent information They show less ability to adapt to the new
contradicts the representation initial of the problem information that contradicts the representation and strategy
show flexibility in adapting to a more appropriate strategy of the problem
 Innate talent or acquired ability

There is considerable debate about whether the

differences between expert and novice are due to innate
talent or acquired skill.

Many psychologists have accepted the interaction

between both aspects.

However, we must not forget that genetic inheritance can

make a difference in the acquisition of at least some kinds
of expertise.