Schema induction in children's analogical problem solving.

Three experiments were conducted to explore the ability of school-age children to transfer solutions to analogous problems. This research addressed the issue of how the variability of procedural features in source examples facilitates the induction of a general problem schema and, thus, promotes subsequent transfer. Children were asked to solve a series of problems analogous to A. S. Luchins's (1942) classic waterjar problems. All the problems shared a common isomorphic structure and a general solution but required either similar or different specific procedures. Children who experienced problems with variant procedural features were more likely than those who experienced problems with invariant procedural features to construct a general problem schema and to solve novel problems requiring unfamiliar procedures. This research sheds light on the cognitive mechanisms involved in strategy generalization and analogical problem solving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of solving related proofs on memory and transfer in geometry problem solving.

Three experiments investigate the relationship between memory and problem solving in the domain of geometry theorem proving. In Exp 1, Ss' memories for an original problem-solving episode were interfered with retroactively by solving a 2nd problem that had the same diagram, but no memory effects were observed that depended on the 2nd problem's logical similarity to the original. Results suggest that the diagram is the basis for geometry problem-solving memories. Exps 2 and 3 investigated problem-solving memories in use by examining Ss' transfer to a 3rd (test) problem. As with the memory results, transfer was reduced when the 1st 2 problems had the same diagram relative to when they had 2 different diagrams. Transfer was reduced most in the condition with the greatest proportion of memory-interfering steps. Results suggest that the structure and quality of problem-solving memories affect problem-solving transfer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

带组换装时间的单机调度问题

在某钢铁线材企业的实际调度问题的基础上,研究了一类带有组换装时间的单机调度问题.根据该调度问题的实际需求,以最小化作业的最大延迟为优化目标.由于该问题是NP难的,提出了一类启发式算法来求解该问题,并进一步通过引入问题的性质,提高算法的寻优性能,降低算法运行时间.该算法在随机产生的测试问题和企业的实际调度上均进行了测试,实验结果表明该启发式算法能在短时间内获取近优解.     

Comprehension of arithmetic word problems: A comparison of successful and unsuccessful problem solvers.

It is proposed that when solving an arithmetic word problem, unsuccessful problem solvers base their solution plan on numbers and keywords that they select from the problem (the direct translation strategy), whereas successful problem solvers construct a model of the situation described in the problem and base their solution plan on this model (the problem-model strategy). Evidence for this hypothesis was obtained in 2 experiments. In Experiment 1, the eye fixations of successful and unsuccessful problem solvers on words and numbers in the problem statement were compared. In Experiment 2, the degree to which successful and unsuccessful problem solvers remember the meaning and exact wording of word problems was examined. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The shape of change in psychotherapy: Longitudinal assessment of personal problems.

Proposed 4 parameters that describe the course of change in the subjective intensity of personal problems during psychotherapy: (1) the problem's initial severity; (2) its rate of change (deterioration or improvement); (3) its instability (day-to-day variability in intensity); and (4) its curve (change in the rate of change during treatment). The authors constructed indexes of these parameters for 10 individualized personal problems rated 3 times per week by each of 40 clients (most were diagnosed as depressed) over the course of their 16-session treatment and associated assessment periods. Initial severity predicted problems' reported salience to clients. The rate of change parameter was correlated (across clients) with traditional pretreatment to postreatment outcome measures. Instability was high, and problems dealing with tension symptoms and mood were more unstable than were problems dealing with relationships or self-esteem. Cutting across problem content were large individual differences among clients in the patterns of change. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Particularization: Inductive speeding of rule-governed decisions by narrow application experience.

Particular surface features of problems can become associatively linked with effective, well-mastered solution principles, thus modifying their application and producing faster solutions. In 3 experiments, 8 3-bit decision rules were used to solve word problems generated from experimentally restricted feature pools. The authors confirmed that frequency of exposure to surface features speeds problem encoding and categorization. Co-occurrence between particular problem features and a relevant rule (particularization) resulted in outracing of well-learned problem-solving processes by direct linkage between features and action choice. Particularization, an inductive process emerging during rule-guided problem solving, is proposed as a mechanism by which rule-guided decisions become automatized. In this way, memories of specific rule-application experiences supplant analytic processes in problem solving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning from mistakes: Inducing analogous solution failures to a source problem produces later successes in analogical transfer.

In 4 experiments the use of analogical problem solving to facilitate the solution to a problem that usually results in persistent solution failures without hints was investigated. The results of Exps 1–3 indicate that spontaneous transfer was facilitated by a manipulation of the surface form of the source problem that tends to induce initial solution failures analogous to those produced to the target problem. Surface similarity of content words and diagrams had no effect on transfer in Exps 1–3. In Exp 4, facilitation of spontaneous transfer was not obtained when source solution failures were prevented. The importance of failed solutions in problem representation and the relationship between problem representation and surface similarity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of expertise in mathematical problem solving.

Investigated the distinctive strategies employed by expert and novice problem solvers (forward-chaining and means–ends, respectively) in 7 experiments using 14 mathematics graduates and 162 9–12 yr olds. Exp I studied the course of development of expertise using a subset of kinematics problems. Ss demonstrated the switch from a means–ends to a forward-chaining strategy. This was associated with the conventional concomitants of expertise such as a decrease in the number of moves required for solution. Ss appeared to categorize problems according to the order in which equations would be required. Exps II and III tested the hypothesis that the means–ends strategies used by novices retarded the acquisition of appropriate schemata. The use of nonspecific rather than specific goals was found to enhance the acquisition of expertise, the number of moves required for solution, and the number of equations written without substitutions. Exps IV and V, using geometry problems, duplicated the enhanced rate of strategy alteration found with reduced goal specificity. Results of Exps VI and VII indicated that reduced goal specificity also enhanced the rate at which problem solvers induced appropriate problem categories. It is concluded that in circumstances in which the primary reason for presenting problems is to assist problem solvers in acquiring knowledge concerning problem structure, the use of conventional problems solved by means–ends analysis may not be maximally efficient. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of analogical reasoning in the induction of problem categories.

In 3 experiments, novices were required to answer questions while reading a series of problems. The questions required them either to analyze individual problem structures (intraproblem processing) or compare problem structures (analogical comparison processing) to derive answers. Ss who engaged in problem comparison processing were found to categorize and describe problems on the basis of problem structure, whereas those who engaged in intraproblem processing, or simply read the problems, categorized and described them on the basis of surface features. Analogical comparisons also facilitated selection and construction of equations relative to intraproblem processing. These results suggest that analogical comparison is an important component in the induction of problem categories. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于HITHS算法的多节点多加工路线订单接受问题研究

针对具有提前/拖期特点的多节点多加工路线订单接受问题,提出采用改进NEH启发式算法、局部搜索和智能调谐和声搜索算法的混合智能调谐和声搜索算法(HITHS)来求解问题.该算法首先在初始解空间中采用改进NEH启发式算法产生部分初始解,然后利用智能调谐和声搜索算法更新初始解,在更新过程中再利用局部搜索的互换、交换和逆序操作使其避免陷入局部最优解,从而形成问题的近似最优解.最后采用所提出的混合算法对该问题进行算例分析,并和基本和声搜索算法进行比较,表明了混合算法的有效性和可行性.     

Analogical transfer, problem similarity, and expertise.

When we encounter a new problem, we are often reminded of similar problems solved earlier and may use the solution procedure from an old problem to solve a new one. Such analogical transfer, however, has been difficult to demonstrate empirically, even within a single experimental session. This article proposes a framework for conceptualizing analogical problem solving that can account for the conflicting findings in the literature. In addition, the framework leads to two predictions concerning the transfer behavior of experts and novices. These predictions concern both positive and negative transfer and are based on the different types of features included in the problem representations of experts and novices. First, when two problems share structural features but not surface features, spontaneous positive transfer should be more likely in experts than in novices. Second, when two problems share surface but not structural features, spontaneous negative transfer should be stronger for novices than for experts. These predictions were supported by the results of three experiments involving college students solving a complex arithmetic word problem. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of principle explanation and superficial similarity on analogical mapping in problem solving.

When solving a problem, people often make use of an earlier problem by mapping the objects from the earlier problem to the current one. Three experiments varied the superficial similarity between study and test problems to discriminate 2 views of the mapping process: direct mapping and near miss. Subjects studied 4 probability principles and study problems and solved test problems. The mapping of earlier problems on the basis of superficial similarity would lead to incorrect answers. In Experiment 1, evidence was found for the direct mapping view: Test problems with more similar objects to the study problems were more likely to be (inappropriately) mapped. However, in Experiment 2, in which the principle explanation was embedded in the study problem, this effect was reversed. In Experiment 3, 2 explanations for the differences in effect were contrasted. The discussion focuses on how principle explanation may affect analogical problem solving. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further studies of the Tower of Hanoi problem-solving performance of retarded young adults and nonretarded children.

12 retarded Ss (mean CA 20.19 yrs; mean MA 10.23 yrs) and 36 nonretarded kindergartners and 1st–4th graders were given 4–7 step Tower of Hanoi problems that differed in type of goal state. Overall performance levels of the kindergarten, 1st-grade, and retarded groups were the same, but were reliably below the performance level of 3rd and 4th graders. Performance differences were related to the minimum number of steps needed for a problem's solution and to the depth of search required for a problem's initial subgoal. The propensity of the older nonretarded Ss to search 2 moves ahead, while the members of the other groups limited themselves primarily to a 1-move search, contributed importantly to the group differences. Degree of constraint concerning which disk should be the first to be transferred to its goal peg also played a role in producing task and group differences, as did Ss' particular choice of strategies. All groups improved slightly. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Form and content in the development of deductive reasoning.

Three experiments explored the development of formal logical reasoning between Grades 4 and 12 and the role of semantic content in the solution of Wason's (1966) selection task problems. In Experiment 1, subjects in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades were tested on several familiar-content and several abstract-content selection problems. In Experiment 2, subjects in Grades 4, 8, and 12 were assessed on the familiar problems used in Experiment 1. In Experiment 3, subjects in Grades 4, 6, and 8 were tested on novel familiar-content problems, familiar-content problems with conditional clauses reversed, a meaningful but unfamiliar problem, and an abstract problem. The results suggested that formal logical reasoning is not generally present during the 4th or 6th grades and that formal logical competence becomes available in adolescence. A general facilitation effect was found for familiar semantic content, but this was qualified by one anomalous familiar-content problem in each experiment. The results are discussed in the context of the competence-moderator-performance model, which maintains that both logical knowledge and world knowledge are necessary but distinct features of adequate reasoning performance. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Infants' attention to object structure in early categorization.

Three experiments with object-manipulation tasks examined the effect of object structure on 14-, 18-, and 22-month-olds' categorization. In Experiment 1, categorization of animals and vehicles was tested when object structure was normal and when it was violated by moving parts (legs or wheels) into a novel configuration. In Experiment 2, categorization of animals, vehicles, and furniture was examined when object structure was modified in orientation (e.g., legs inverted) or in configuration (e.g., legs at tangential angles). In Experiment 3, infants' attention to texture in categorization was tested. The results of the studies showed that 14- to 22-month-olds attend to object parts and structural configuration to categorize and that they do not attend to object texture. There is a perceptual basis for early categorization at the superordinate-like level, and infants are constrained in the parts and object structures they recognize in this process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Constraint relaxation and chunk decomposition in insight problem solving.

Insight problem solving is characterized by impasses, states of mind in which the thinker does not know what to do next. The authors hypothesized that impasses are broken by changing the problem representation, and 2 hypothetical mechanisms for representational change are described: the relaxation of constraints on the solution and the decomposition of perceptual chunks. These 2 mechanisms generate specific predictions about the relative difficulty of individual problems and about differential transfer effects. The predictions were tested in 4 experiments using matchstick arithmetic problems. The results were consistent with the predictions. Representational change is a more powerful explanation for insight than alternative hypotheses, if the hypothesized change processes are specified in detail. Overcoming impasses in insight is a special case of the general need to override the imperatives of past experience in the face of novel conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chronic ambivalence: An individual and marital problem.

Describes chronic ambivalence as a manifestation of the disorder of the self and examines its etiology and function for the individual and the couple. Two case examples illustrate the problem's roots in the separation-individuation phase of development and the need for establishing a separate identity with a capacity for autonomous functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond belief bias: reasoning from conceptual structures by mental models manipulation

Mental models constitute an alternative to the rule-based systems in the explanation of human reasoning (Johnson-Laird, 1983). In this paper, we claim that the concept of believability generally used to categorize content and context effects is of little use within a semantic theory. Thus, we propose the use of categories that are directly extracted from subjective relations among concepts within the reasoning problem. We demonstrate that manipulations based on this kind of categorization produce predictable patterns of responses in reasoning problems. We present two experiments to test our predictions, using conditional and syllogistic reasoning problems, and in both cases, we demonstrate the influence of conceptual knowledge not only in natural contexts, but also in experimentally created artificial contexts.     

A structure-mapping model for word problems.

Tested predictions of a structure-mapping model for word problems in 4 experiments involving 132 undergraduates. In Exps I and II, Ss rated the potential usefulness of solutions for pairs of problems—mixture problems in Exp I and work problems in Exp II. The problems were either equivalent (same story, same procedure), similar (same story, different procedure), isomorphic (different story, same procedure), or unrelated (different story, different procedure). Ss in Exp III used an example solution for a work problem and a mixture problem to generate equations to related test problems that differed in their mappings from the example. In Exp IV, Ss matched concepts in the test problems to corresponding concepts in the examples to provide a direct measure of their ability to construct mappings across different problems. In Exps III and IV, Ss performed significantly better on isomorphic problems than on similar problems, and significantly better on work isomorphs than on mixture isomorphs. Results suggest that a structure-mapping model that emphasizes the transparency and structure of the mapping can be used to predict the usefulness of a solution. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)