A Psychological Study of Goal Directed and Undirected Problem Solving

Much of what we have come to understand about problem solving, derived from psychological research, has been put to use in a wide variety of applications; these include assessments of medical diagnosis to modelling skill acquisition in industry. Typically, solutions to a host of problems are reached using means-ends analysis. The technique helps guide the deliberate search for a solution in simple and complex environments. Recently, research has focused on problem solving of a different kind, termed non-specific problem solving. In contrast to more typical methods, solutions are reached effortlessly and without any deliberate strategic application. The aims of this research proposal are threefold. First, the aim is to understand how problems are transformed and then solved with and without deliberate effort. In the real world, most problem solving occurs in a social context. Studies of observational learning have shown that we effortlessly tackle problems during or after we have observed others attempting the same problems. This work has also led to the discovery of two forms of learning: specific and non-specific. The second aim is to adapt the empirical techniques used in the observational learning field and apply them to problem solving. In so doing, the third aim is to, examine whether the difference between specific and non-specific problem solving reflect more general differences in cognition, by studying if they share the same properties as specific and non-specific observational learning.