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Results for “Problem Solving”

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PubMed2000

Problem solving treatment and group psychoeducation for depression: multicentre randomised controlled trial. Outcomes of Depression International Network (ODIN) Group.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the acceptability of two psychological interventions for depressed adults in the community and their effect on caseness, symptoms, and subjective function. DESIGN: A pragmatic multicentre randomised controlled trial, stratified by centre. SETTING: Nine urban and rural communities in Finland, Republic of Ireland, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. PARTICIPANTS: 452 participants aged 18 to 65, identified through a community survey with depressive or adjustment disorders according to the international classification of diseases, 10th revision or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition. INTERVENTIONS: Six individual sessions of problem solving treatment (n=128), eight group sessions of the course on prevention of depression (n=108), and controls (n=189). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Completion rates for each intervention, diagnosis of depression, and depressive symptoms and subjective function. RESULTS: 63% of participants assigned to problem solving and 44% assigned to prevention of depression completed their intervention. The proportion of problem solving participants depressed at six months was 17% less than that for controls, giving a number needed to treat of 6; the mean difference in Beck depression inventory score was -2. 63 (95% confidence interval -4.95 to -0.32), and there were significant improvements in SF-36 scores. For depression prevention, the difference in proportions of depressed participants was 14% (number needed to treat of 7); the mean difference in Beck depression inventory score was -1.50 (-4.16 to 1.17), and there were significant improvements in SF-36 scores. Such differences were not observed at 12 months. Neither specific diagnosis nor treatment with antidepressants affected outcome. CONCLUSIONS: When offered to adults with depressive disorders in the community, problem solving treatment was more acceptable than the course on prevention of depression. Both interventions reduced caseness and improved subjective function.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

Distinction between quality and quantity of problem-solving responses among depressed older women.

The purpose of this project was to investigate the extent to which depressed and nondepressed community-dwelling older women differed in their problem-solving responses to vignettes describing problematic situations common in this population. Contrary to expectations, the depressed and nondepressed older women showed an equal capacity to follow traditional problem-solving steps. There were differences, however, in the quality of solutions generated for dealing with social isolation and interpersonal conflict as judged by peer evaluators. Further work is needed in understanding the components of effective problem solving most important for adjustment to real-life difficulties.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2004

A problem solving and decision making toolbox for approaching clinical problems and decisions.

In this paper, we begin by presenting three real patients and then review all the practical conceptual tools that have been suggested for systematically analyzing clinical problems. Each of these conceptual tools (e.g. Evidence-Based Medicine, Clinical Practice Guidelines, Decision Analysis) deals mainly with a different type or aspect of clinical problems. We suggest that all of these conceptual tools can be thought of as belonging in the clinician's toolbox for solving clinical problems and making clinical decisions. A heuristic for guiding the clinician in using the tools is proposed. The heuristic is then used to analyze management of the three patients presented at the outset.

Biomedical Research↗

PubMed2004

A comparison of collaborative and individual everyday problem solving in younger and older adults.

To understand the conditions under which age differences in everyday problem-solving performance occur, this study investigated individual and collaborative problem solving. Younger (24 females, 24 males; M age = 19.98, SD = 1.43) and older adults (25 females, 24 males; M age = 71.14, SD = 6.65) worked either alone or with a same-sex friend to plan a cross-country trip to attend a wedding. Age differences favoring younger adults were found on three of eight performance measures: two component completion accuracy variables (i.e., city completion, Mt. Rushmore completion) and a composite variable that assessed overall performance. Younger adults also completed the task faster than did older adults. Collaborators out-performed individuals on the composite measure of overall performance and frequency of planning errors. Females committed more planning errors than males did. Younger and older adults' performances were predicted by different variables; however, basic abilities were not consistently significant predictors of performance for either younger or older adults. The results of the study suggest that task characteristics may differentially influence older and younger adults' collaborative performance.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Association of observed family relationship quality and problem-solving skills with treatment adherence in older children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE: To examine associations between observations of the quality of family relationships and problem-solving skills and reported adherence to medical treatments for older children and adolescents with cystic fibrosis (CF). METHODS: Reports of adherence were obtained from 96 youth with CF and their parents recruited from six CF centers in the Midwest and southeastern United States. Videotaped observations of family discussions of high conflict issues were used to assess quality of relationships and problem-solving skills. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that observed family relationship quality (RQ) was related to parent and child reports of adherence to airway clearance and aerosolized medications after controlling for demographic variables and illness severity. Observed family problem solving was not a significant predictor after controlling for RQ. CONCLUSIONS: Older children and adolescents who come from families experiencing unhappy and conflicted relationships may be at greater risk for poor adherence to treatments; thus, family relationships are appropriate targets for interventions aimed at improving adherence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1984

Problem solving styles of general practitioners in simulated clinical situations.

Self-assessments were received from 210 general practitioners responding to a series of six patients management problems published in a Norwegian medical journal. The physicians were invited to give their ratings on a five-point rating scale for 21 to 24 statements relating to each of the six case histories. From these ratings an answer index was prepared which measured the degree of decisiveness for each individual physician. The responding physicians showed great variations in their problem solving styles. Physicians with a high degree of decisiveness in their problem solving styles had significantly longer experience as general practitioners, were older and were more likely to work in single-handed practices rather than group or partnership practices. Sex, practice economy and work load were some of the variables not related to the observed differences in problem solving styles.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

More on the fragility of performance: choking under pressure in mathematical problem solving.

In 3 experiments, the authors examined mathematical problem solving performance under pressure. In Experiment 1, pressure harmed performance on only unpracticed problems with heavy working memory demands. In Experiment 2, such high-demand problems were practiced until their answers were directly retrieved from memory. This eliminated choking under pressure. Experiment 3 dissociated practice on particular problems from practice on the solution algorithm by imposing a high-pressure test on problems practiced 1, 2, or 50 times each. Infrequently practiced high-demand problems were still performed poorly under pressure, whereas problems practiced 50 times each were not. These findings support distraction theories of choking in math, which contrasts with considerable evidence for explicit monitoring theories of choking in sensorimotor skills. This contrast suggests a skill taxonomy based on real-time control structures.

Cognition↗

PubMed1978

The effects of age on perceptual problem-solving strategies.

Witkin's Embedded Figures Test (EFT) was used to measure the changes with age in field dependence and problem-solving ability Qualitative data concerning problem-solving strategies and quantitative data were collected. EFT was administered to 12 females in each of the following decades: 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60, 70s. All subjects were moderately to well educated, healthy, and relatively active members of the community. All had at least 20/33 corrected or uncorrected vision. An interview was held with each participant after completion of the EFT. ANOVA of time scores indicated that significantly (p less than 0.01) more time is needed to solve the items with an increase in age; a Tukey (a) test revealed a significant (p less than 0.05) increase between the 40s and 60s age groups. With an increase in age a significant (p less than 0.01) decline in the number of items solved was found. Partial correlations revealed that age is the most important factor, vis-á-vis general intelligence, visual acuity, and the personality factors measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory. The relative stability of performance up through 49 and after 50 implies a decline in field independence rather than in higher-order cognitive processes.

Adult↗

PubMed1976

A conceptual framework for measuring clinical problem-solving.

Most attempts to measure clinical competence start by modeling the clinician's problem-solving process. The conflicting data from studies built around this approach suggest the need for rethinking the underlying concepts. Presented is a conceptual framework for clinical competence which is a natural expansion of earlier approaches. The framework is based upon defining the domain in which the clinician functions as the starting point for measuring clinical competence. There are three dimensions to the framework-problem-solving process, clinical discipline, and context of care. The intersection of the dimensions defines the clinical practice domain to be measured. For each domain specific problems can be identified and clinicians asked to demonstrate competence in resolving them.

Clinical Competence↗

PubMed1978

Chimpanzee problem-solving: a test for comprehension.

An adult chimpanzee was shown videotaped scenes of a human actor struggling with one of eight problems and was then shown two photographs, one of which depicted an action or an object (or both) that could constitute a solution to the problem. On seven of the eight problems, the animal consistently chose the correct photograph. This test problem-solving comprehension permits the animal's knowledge about problem-solving--its ability to infer the nature of problems and to recognize potential solutions to them--to be examined.

Animals↗

PubMed2001

A model of eye movements and visual working memory during problem solving in geometry.

The Oculomotor Geometry Reasoning Engine (OGRE) was proposed to model eye movements and visual working memory during problem solving in geometry. OGRE postulates that geometrical elements from diagrams are added to visual working memory when they are scanned. Newly-added elements overwrite elements already in memory. The model was applied to eye-movement patterns of three subjects: two geometry experts and one non-expert. Their eye movements and verbal protocols were recorded as they solved geometry problems posed with diagrams. Subjects used highly redundant eye-movement patterns with multiple rescans of the same geometrical elements. OGRE's model of visual memory provided a good fit for the distribution of times between rescans. The model was used to estimate the size of visual working memory used in geometry. The estimates varied as a function of both problems and subjects, with means and standard deviations for each subject being: 5.3+/-1.4, 4.0+/-0.9 and 4.7+/-1.6.

Eye Movements↗

PubMed1996

Problem solving and logical reasoning in the macaque monkey.

This study focuses on the performances of monkeys in a spatial problem-solving task that involves working memory. Two monkeys had to find, by trial-and-error, the touching order of 2 or 3 targets in a set of 3 or 4 fixed spatial targets. When a solution was found and performed 6 times, the order was changed and the animal had to resume a new search within the same set of targets. Thus, in a training session, many searches (up to 60) could be initialised. The data show that the animals conducted a methodical search for the hidden order and found the solution in a minimal number of trials. We conclude that the monkey is able to construct complex cognitive structures, similar to logical reasoning, to solve spatial problems of this type.

Animals↗

PubMed1989

A problem-solving approach to social skills training in employment settings with mentally retarded youth.

The present study examined two approaches to teaching social behaviors to 3 developmentally disabled youths in work contexts. In one approach, a problem-solving procedure was learned and transferred to different materials. Conversational probes monitored interactions between disabled employees and their co-workers and customers. A multiple baseline design demonstrated that the training produced generalization and maintenance of the targeted social behaviors to the work settings: A second approach based on a role-playing intervention produced no substantial generalization in the work setting. A social validation questionnaire administered to co-workers supported the efficacy of the problem-solving training procedure. The efficacy of social problem-solving training was discussed in terms of sufficient exemplars, common stimuli, and self-mediations.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Cognitive style: problem solving by rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) reared with living or inanimate substitute mothers.

Cognitive style, reflected in the generation of novel solutions and the use of identifiable response strategies in problem-solving situations, was contrasted in rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) reared individually with either canine companions or inanimate surrogate mothers. Four experiments were conducted over a 5-year period, examining problem solving in relatively unstructured as well as more formal situations. Results indicated that whereas the 2 rearing groups did not differ on most measures of performance, consistent response strategies were identified for the dog-raised monkeys. The results were compared with previously published data from the same monkeys demonstrating rearing group differences in abilities to engage in complex social interaction. The animate nature of the early rearing environment may facilitate-the development of a cognitive style that influences problem-solving abilities in both the social and nonsocial realms.

Animals↗

PubMed1997

Everyday problem solving across the adult life span: influence of domain specificity and cognitive appraisal.

Differences in problem-solving strategies for situations varying in three domains, consumer, home management, and conflict with friends, were examined among younger, middle-aged, and older adults. In addition, this study examined the influence of perceived ability to resolve the problem, controllability, and causal attributions on strategy selection. In the 2 instrumental domains, older adults were more problem focused in their approach than adolescents and younger adults, whereas adolescents and younger adults selected more passive-dependent strategies. In the more interpersonal domain, conflict with friends, older adults tended to select avoidant-denial strategies more so than younger adults. Finally, across domains, the greater the perceived ability to resolve a problem the less the avoidant-denial strategy was selected. The importance of distinguishing between social and instrumental problem solving and of examining the cognitive appraisal of a problem situation are discussed.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed1996

Parent-child relationships, family problems-solving behavior, and sibling relationship quality: the moderating role of sibling temperaments.

In this study we sought to determine whether sibling temperaments moderated the associations of parent-child relationship quality and family problem-solving behavior with sibling relationship quality. Observational assessments of mother-child and father-child relationship quality, family problem-solving behavior, and sibling relationship quality were obtained from the families of 49 pairs of brothers and 46 pairs of sisters. Mean ages were 10-2 for older siblings and 7-6 for younger siblings. Parent-reported child temperament assessments were also obtained. The links among mother-older child relationship quality, father-older child relationship quality, and sibling relationship quality were moderated by the older sibling's temperament. The younger and older siblings' temperaments moderated the associations between the quality of the father-younger sibling and sibling relationships. The association between family problem-solving behavior and sibling relationship quality was not moderated by sibling temperaments.

Child↗

PubMed1987

A comparison of the relative efficacy of self-control therapy and a behavioral problem-solving therapy for depression in children.

Twenty-nine children 9 to 12 years old who were identified as moderately to severely depressed using the Children's Depression Inventory were randomly assigned to either a self-control, behavioral problem-solving, or waiting list condition. The self-control treatment focused on teaching children self-management skills. The behavioral problem-solving therapy consisted of education, self-monitoring of pleasant events, and group problem solving directed toward improving social behavior. Subjects were assessed pre- and posttreatment and at 8-week follow-up with multiple assessment procedures and from multiple perspectives. At posttreatment, subjects in both active treatments reported significant improvement on self-report and interview measures of depression while subjects in the waiting list condition reported minimal change. Results were maintained at follow-up. The general success of the experimental treatments was discussed and recommendations for further treatment components were provided.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ability to identify, explain and solve problems in everyday tasks: preliminary validation of a direct video measure of practical intelligence.

Recent developments in the definitional literature on mental retardation emphasize the need to ground the concept of adaptive behavior in an expanded model of intelligence, which includes practical and social intelligence. Development of a direct measure of practical intelligence might increase the likelihood that an assessment of this domain would be included in the diagnostic process of mental retardation. The current paper reports on the preliminary exploration of the validity and utility of using a videotaped portrayal of everyday tasks, with built-in errors, as a measure of practical intelligence. A correlation of .79 was found between the practical intelligence video score and the Vineland domestic and community sub-domains score in 50 adults with mild and moderate mental retardation. This suggests that the instruments are essentially measuring the same domain of human competence. The unexplained variance may be attributed to the fact that the video measure is more directly measuring cognition.

Adult↗