1. Generating Solutions Paul Morris CIS144
“Nothing to more dangerous than an idea, when it is the only one you have.”
- Emile Chartier
Paul Morris
CIS144

2. Concepts
Concept
A mental grouping of persons, ideas, events, or objects that share common properties

3. Concepts A Semantic Network
Figure 7.1 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

4. Concept formation
Concepts are fuzzy
bowl
cup

5. Concept formation
Concepts are fuzzy

6. Concept formation The most representative of a concept is a prototype.
A German shepherd is more doggy than a Chihuahua
A 20-year-old is more studenty than a 65-year-old

7. Solving Problems Representing the Problem
Image
A mental representation of visual information
Mental Models
Intuitive theories about the way things work

8. Solving Problems Strategies
Trial and error (rule out one by one)
Algorithms (a set procedure)
Heuristic (a general rule of thumb)
Insight (sudden realization)
Man has the hiccups.
People begin to see the relevance of Ideas implicit in the solution (e.g., surprise, remedy) just before achieving insight.
A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water.
The barman pulls a shotgun from behind the counter
and points it at the man.
The man says “Thank you” and walks out.

9. Common Causes to Mental Blocks
Defining the problem too narrowly.
Attacking the symptoms and not the real problem
Assuming there is only one right answer
Getting “hooked” on the first solution that comes to mind.
Getting “hooked” on a solution that almost works (but really doesn’t).
Being distracted by irrelevant information, called “mental dazzle.”
Getting frustrated by lack of success.
Being too anxious to finish
Defining the problem ambiguously.
Man has the hiccups.
People begin to see the relevance of Ideas implicit in the solution (e.g., surprise, remedy) just before achieving insight.

10. Solving Problems Representing the Problem Mental-Rotation Tasks
Figure 7.2 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
#3 is correct
Similar to:
Intons-Peterson, M. (1993). Imaginal priming. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 19,
Imagine a Capital letter T.
Rotate it 90 degrees to the right.
Put a triangle to the left of the figure, pointing to the right.
Rotate the figure 90 degrees to the right.
Which of these figures is the correct one?

11. Generating Solutions The Cheap-Necklace Problem
Figure 7.8 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Make a necklace for 15¢ or less.
It costs 2¢ to open a link; 3¢ to close a link.

12. Generating Solutions The Nine-Dot Problem
Connect all 9 dots.
Use only 4 lines.
Do not lift your pencil from the page after you begin drawing.
Figure 7.9a from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

13. Solution to the Cheap-Necklace Problem
Figure 7.10 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Using all four chains is not necessary to solve the problem.
Solving this problem may require an incubation period followed by insight into the solution.

14. Solution to the Nine-Dot Problem
People do not realize that they their lines can be drawn outside the box.
Failure to solve this problem is often due to representation failure.
Figure 7.11 from:
Kassin, S. (2001). Psychology, third edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

15. Obstacles to Problem-Solving
Functional Fixedness (Stereotyping)
The tendency to think of objects in one way rather than in alternative ways.

16. Problem-Solving Blind spots
Emotional Interference
These decrease the amount of freedom with which you explore and manipulate ideas.
Fear of risk taking
Lack of appetite for chaos
Judging rather than generating ideas
Lack of challenge
Inability to incubate

17. Problem-Solving Blind spots
Cultural Patterns
Imposed by our immediate social and physical environment.
Failure to consider an act that causes displeasure or disgust to certain members of society.

18. Problem- Free the Ping Pong Ball
Two pipes, which serve as pole mounts for volleyball net, are embedded in the floor of a gymnasium. During a friendly game of ping pong, the ball accidentally rolls into one of the pipes because the cover was not replaced. The inside diameter of the pipe is 0.06” larger than the ball. From the people there, you have: a 15’ extension cord, a carpenter’s hammer, a chisel, a bag of potato chips, a file, a wire coat hanger, a monkey wrench, and a flash light.
Free the Ping Pong ball without leaving the gym, or damaging the ball, pipe, or floor.

19. PPT for Next Week
Create a Powerpoint on Gorman’s Blockbuster.
and
Raudelsepp’s Way to Increase Your Creativity

20. Comments that reduce Brainstorming to Braindrizzling
That won’t work
That’s too radical
It’ not my job
We don’t have enough time
That’s too much hassle
It’s against our policy
We haven’t done it that way before.
That’s too expensive
That’s not practical
We can’t solve this problem

21. Problem Statement
How could the rules of basketball be changed so that players under 5’9” tall might be more competitive?
A very large (500,000 sq. ft.) sludge pond is part of a waste treatment plant. The liquid in the pond is very thick and sticky. From time to time, unwanted floating object (dead animal, branched, etc.) appear on the pond and must be removed. Unfortunately, covering the pond is not an option. Devise ways to solve the problem.

22. Kepner-Tregoe Approach
Situation Analysis
(Where are we?)
Problem
Analysis
Past
What is the fault?
Decision
Analysis
Present
How to correct
the fault?
Potential
Problem
Analysis
Future
How to prevent future faults?

23. Evaluation Criteria Timing Trend Impact How urgent is the problem?
Is a deadline involved?
Trend
What is the problem’s potential for growth?
Impact
How serious is the problem?
What are the effects on the people, the product, the organization, and its policies?