PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: THE PROCESS
When we approach a new situation, our knowledge based on prior experiences will influence our ability to define and represent a problem correctly. In fact, we may fail to notice the existence of a problem if it runs counter to our strongly held expectations. To the extent that an individual has misleading expectations or schemas […]
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: THE ROLE OF SOCIAL CONTEXT
Problem definition is affected by social context in any domain. Individuals can become unable to redefine problems or evaluate progress on current problems due to the attitudes of the group. For example, in an office environment, individuals may be familiar with a particular computer application for word processing. However, the program eventually may become outdated […]
PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS: WELL DEFINED vs ILL-DEFINED PROBLEMS.
There are two classes of problems: those that are considered well defined and others that are considered ill defined. Well-defined problems are those problems whose goals, path to solution, and obstacles to solution are clear based on the information given. For example, the problem of how to calculate the price of a sale item is […]