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Results for “PROBLEM SOLVING”

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PubMed2001

The remediation of problem-solving skills in schizophrenia.

Efforts to remediate the problem-solving deficits of patients with schizophrenia have met with circumscribed success. This could be viewed as a sign of the immutability of the deficit or, alternatively, as a reflection of the inefficacy of the training techniques used. This study examined the feasibility of using problem-solving teaching techniques developed within educational psychology for remediating the problem-solving deficits of inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. These techniques rely on intrinsic motivation and task engagement, which are promoted through contextualization, personalization, and control of learning activities. A sample of 54 patients who demonstrated problem-solving and memory deficits on psychometric testing were randomly assigned to a problem-solving group, a memory training group, or a control group. Patients who received ten sessions of problem-solving remediation showed significantly more improvement on the outcome measure that assessed problem-solving skills required for independent living. Patients who received ten sessions of memory training did not improve on problem-solving measures. These results suggest that patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders are responsive to problem-solving training techniques that promote intrinsic motivation and task engagement.

Adult↗

PubMed1994

Evaluation of social problem solving in schizophrenia.

We examined social problem solving in schizophrenia. Twenty-seven schizophrenic patients in an acute hospital, 19 patients with bipolar disease, and 17 demographically matched nonpatient controls were tested on an empirically developed problem-solving battery that assessed the ability to generate solutions to problems, the ability to evaluate the effectiveness of solutions, and the ability to implement solutions in a role-playing format. Schizophrenic Ss were impaired on all 3 problem-solving domains compared with the nonpatient controls, but bipolar Ss were equally impaired. Several alternative explanations for these findings were considered. The most compelling hypothesis is that the deficits resulted from different factors: cognitive impairment for schizophrenic Ss and acute illness for bipolar Ss. However, longitudinal studies are required to determine whether problem-solving deficits in schizophrenic patients persist during periods of remission. Implications for rehabilitation strategies are discussed.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Spatial visualization, visual imagery, and mathematical problem solving of students with varying abilities.

The purpose of this study was to investigate students' use of visual imagery and its relationship to spatial visualization ability while solving mathematical word problems. Students with learning disabilities (LD), average achievers, and gifted students in sixth grade (N = 66) participated in this study. Students were assessed on measures of mathematical problem solving, visual imagery representation, and spatial visualization ability. The results indicated that gifted students performed better on both spatial visualization measures than students with LD and average-achieving students. Use of visual images was positively correlated with higher mathematical word-problem-solving performance. Furthermore, the use of schematic imagery was significantly and positively correlated with higher performance on each spatial visualization measure; conversely, it was negatively correlated with the use of pictorial images.

Demography↗

PubMed1998

The effects of operator implementation cost on planfulness of problem solving and learning.

This paper explores the idea that problem solving search strategies are chosen so as to optimize performance within the constraints of a particular situation. Four experiments are reported that examine the hypothesis that the cost of performing an operation affects "planfulness"--the level of planning during problem solving. The first experiment investigated problem solving with the 8-puzzle and compared strategies adopted when there was a high versus a low cost of making a move, manipulating cost in terms of command length. The second experiment used protocol analysis to provide more direct evidence for increased planning. The third and fourth experiments looked at the effects of these different strategies on learning: the third examined how problem solving performance on a direct manipulation interface is affected by prior problem solving experience in the same domain with either a high cost or low cost command-driven interface, demonstrating improved performance as a result of training on an interface with high cost operations; the fourth experiment, like the third, examined the effects of prior problem solving experience with either a high cost or low cost interface on subsequent problem solving performance in a different domain using a direct manipulation interface showing no effect to training interface on subsequent performance.

Adult↗

PubMed1983

Effects of creative and noncreative problem-solving on anxiety.

This study has investigated whether the type of problem in creative performance increases anxiety more than the type of problem in noncreative performance. Subjects were 9 male and 48 female undergraduate students in psychology, selected from a voluntary pool and assigned (3 males, 16 females) nonsystematically to either a divergent creative problem-solving condition, a convergent noncreative problem-solving condition, or a control condition involving a neutral problem-solving condition. The Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory was administered to each group before and after the experimental conditions. It was hypothesized: (a) that divergent creative problem-solving would increase state anxiety significantly more than both the convergent noncreative problem-solving task and the neutral problem-solving task and (b) that trait anxiety would not be significantly affected by any of the conditions. Only the latter hypothesis was confirmed. Divergent creative problem-solving did not significantly increase state anxiety, perhaps because the employed subjects were students and may have felt more comfortable with divergent problems than the average population.

Anxiety↗

PubMed1989

Compliance and problem-solving competence in girls and boys.

The problem-solving abilities of 4- and 5-year old children (N = 208) were assessed to test the hypothesis that high levels of compliance are negatively related to problem solving. Problem-solving competence was examined with a task-specific measure and a standardized measure of general problem-solving performance. Low compliant children performed better on both measures. The role of compliance in the cognitive development of girls and boys is discussed.

Achievement↗

PubMed1980

An initial evaluation of learning units to facilitate problem solving and self-directed study (portable patient problem pack).

This paper describes the initial evaluation of the portable patient problem pack, a learning unit designed to facilitate the development of problem-solving skills and stimulate self study. A cross-over design using two neurological patient problems, each presented in two formats (simulated patient and P4), was used with a sample of twenty-nine volunteer nursing and medical students. The results indicate that the P4 appears to be feasible and effective in stimulating problem solving and self-directed study. The suggested concurrent validity, low cost of production, and implementation make it a potentially potent tool for evaluation.

Education, Medical, Undergraduate↗

PubMed2005

Production of negative transfer in a problem-solving task.

72 students solved two problems using a source problem designed to inhibit performance on the target problem relative to baseline performance when the target problem was solved alone. Both source and target problems shared surface similarity but were structurally dissimilar. Negative transfer was found for three different source and target combinations. The decreased performance below baseline for three of the source-target programs provides a reliable context to demonstrate negative transfer and facilitate continued investigation of this phenomenon.

Affect↗

PubMed1977

Problem solving revisited.

In this paper the increasing problems and need for novel solutions in today's world are discussed. A framework consisting of the combination of the problem-solving process and the creative thinking process is considered. Inherent in each process is a predominant mode of thought: reasoning or vertical thinking in the problem-solving process, and imagination or lateral thinking in the creative thinking process. These processes directed in a complementary manner are suggested as a means of solving problems creatively in situations which call for unique and novel solutions.

Humans↗

PubMed1987

Everyday problem solving in adulthood and old age.

We examined everyday problem solving in adulthood and compared it with traditional measures of cognitive abilities. In the first phase of the research, we describe the construction of an inventory to assess problem solving in situations that adults might encounter in everyday life and examine raters' judgments of effective responses to the problems. In the second phase, adults (N = 126) between the ages of 20 and 78 were administered the inventory and tests of verbal and abstract problem-solving abilities. Results indicated modest but significant positive correlations between performance on the inventory and traditional ability tests. The examination of age differences revealed that performance on the Everyday Problem-Solving Inventory and verbal ability test increased with age, whereas performance on a traditional problem-solving test declined after middle age. In addition, education was unrelated to everyday problem solving, highly related to verbal ability, and moderately related to traditional problem solving. Results are discussed in relation to pluralistic conceptions of intelligence and theories of adult intellectual development.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed1979

Therapeutic problem solving: a systematic approach.

A systematic approach to therapeutic problem solving is discussed. Therapeutic problem solving includes defining the problem, assessing possible solutions to the problem and choosing the best solution (therapy). The thought processes specific to drug therapy include: (1) choice of agent, (2) evaluation of benefit versus risk ratios, and (3) determination of dosage. Once treatment has been initiated, the problem-solving process shifts to reassessing the patient, monitoring and readjusting therapy, and anticipating new problems related to therapy. An algorithm is provided to demonstrate a thought sequence for solving therapeutic problems. To assure that no important consideration has been neglected, it is useful to develop a pattern of thought that may be applied to each therapeutic situation.

Drug Administration Schedule↗

PubMed1997

The roles of personal investment and reasoning competence in career-relevant everyday problem solving.

To examine developmental differences in practical problem-solving, 51 late adolescents and 52 young adults were presented measures of everyday problem-solving that were either self-relevant or self-neutral. Results indicated: (a) a developmental shift in everyday problem-solving strategies, such that adolescents rated higher than adults those strategies that involved reconsideration of the problem situations and adapting to the conditions of the problems. By contrast, young adults rated higher more goal-defensive strategies than adolescents; (b) reasoning competence was more strongly related to ratings of self-relevant problems than to ratings of self-neutral problems, but only for the adolescents, providing some support for a relation between reasoning competence and everyday problem-solving; and (c) relevance effects on strategy ratings were clearly evidenced as both age groups rated planning for the future and shaping the present environment to correspond to their current goals higher for self-relevant than for neutral problems. These findings are discussed in terms of the possible roles of domain specifically, personal investment, age, and reasoning competence in adolescent and adult everyday problem-solving.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2000

Problem solving in the treatment of childhood obesity.

This study randomized obese children from 67 families to groups that received a 6-month family-based behavioral weight-control program plus parent and child problem solving, child problem solving, or standard treatment with no additional problem solving. The standard group showed larger body mass index (BMI) decreases than the parent + child group through 2 years, with significant differences in the percentage of children who showed large BMI changes. Significant statistical and clinical improvements were observed over time in child behavior problems and parental distress. Parent problem solving increased in the parent + child condition relative to the other conditions, whereas child problem solving increased equally in all conditions. The bulk of evidence suggests that problem solving did not add to treatment effectiveness beyond the standard family-based treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Gender differences in advanced mathematical problem solving.

Strategy flexibility in mathematical problem solving was investigated. In Studies 1 and 2, high school juniors and seniors solved Scholastic Assessment Test-Mathematics (SAT-M) problems classified as conventional or unconventional. Algorithmic solution strategies were students' default choice for both types of problems across conditions that manipulated item format and solution time. Use of intuitive strategies on unconventional problems was evident only for high-ability students. Male students were more likely than female students to successfully match strategies to problem characteristics. In Study 3, a revised taxonomy of problems based on cognitive solution demands was predictive of gender differences on Graduate Record Examination-Quantitative (GRE-Q) items. Men outperformed women overall, but the difference was greater on items requiring spatial skills, shortcuts, or multiple solution paths than on problems requiring verbal skills or mastery of classroom-based content. Results suggest that strategy flexibility is a source of gender differences in mathematical ability assessed by SAT-M and GRE-Q problem solving.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1993

A trial of two cognitive behavioural methods of treating drug-resistant residual psychotic symptoms in schizophrenic patients. II. Treatment-specific changes in coping and problem-solving skills.

Changes in coping skills and problem-solving skills were examined in two groups of schizophrenic patients. The groups received either coping skills enhancement or problem-solving treatments to reduce their drug-resistant residual psychotic symptoms. The coping skills group showed significant increases both in the number of positive coping strategies used and in their efficacy, whereas the problem-solving group showed a decrease in these measures during treatment. Both groups showed significant improvements in problem-solving skills. Changes in coping but not problem solving were significantly related to decreases in psychotic symptoms during treatment. It was concluded that treatment involving the teaching of coping skills had a specific treatment effect.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Thinking out loud: an exploration of problem-solving language in preschoolers with and without language impairment.

This study investigates the use of language while engaged in solving a complex spatial problem. Children with specific language impairment (SLI) have been reported to lag behind age peers in certain cognitive tasks, despite normal range non-verbal intelligence test scores. It was hypothesized that these delays could reflect some failure to employ language to direct and facilitate thought. Dyads of preschool children were taped during a three-dimensional construction task. Task-relevant utterances were then coded for function and addressee. The speech of six children with SLI, aged 4;10, was compared with that of two control groups, one matched by age, the other by language level. The SLI group used less problem-solving speech and fewer modal expressions than their age peers. Not all differences were statistically significant, but the pattern of findings indicated that what differences did occur were due to overall reductions in the amount of speech rather than any specific failure to use language as a tool of thought. Correlations between the use of problem-solving speech and a measure of cognitive style indicated clear group differences. For children in the control groups, greater use of private speech was associated with greater cognitive efficiency; for children in the SLI group the relationship was in the opposite direction, greater use of private speech being associated with less cognitive efficiency. In all three groups, problem-solving speech could be addressed either to partner or to self, although some individual preferences were observed. The findings, while preliminary, suggest new directions for studies of cognitive deficits in children with SLI. They also indicate the importance of including socially directed utterances, and controls for language proficiency, in future research on private speech.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1992

Personal and parental problem drinking: effects on problem-solving performance and self-appraisal.

This study examined the problem-solving performances and self-appraisals of problem-solving ability of college-age subjects with and without parental history of problem drinking. Contrary to our predictions, children of problem drinkers (COPDs) were rated as somewhat more effective in their problem-solving skills than non-COPDs, undermining prevailing assumptions about offspring from alcoholic households. While this difference was not large and was qualified by other variables, subjects' own alcohol abuse did exert a detrimental effect on problem-solving performance, regardless of parental history of problem drinking. However, a different pattern was evident for problem-solving self-appraisals. Alcohol-abusing non-COPDs saw themselves as effective problem-solvers while alcohol-abusing COPDs appraised themselves as poor problem-solvers. In addition, the self-appraisals of alcohol-abusing COPDs were consistent with objective ratings of solution effectiveness (i.e., they were both negative) while alcohol-abusing non-COPDs were overly positive in their appraisals, opposing the judgments of trained raters. This finding suggests that the relationship between personal alcohol abuse and self-appraised problem-solving abilities may differ as a function of parental history of problem drinking. Limitations on the generalizability of findings are addressed.

Adult↗

PubMed1984

Development of analogical problem-solving skill.

3 experiments were performed to assess children's ability to solve a problem by analogy to a superficially dissimilar situation. Preschoolers and fifth and sixth graders were asked to solve a problem that allowed multiple solutions. Some subjects were first read a story that included an analogous problem and its solution. When the mapping between the relations involved in the corresponding solutions was relatively simple, and the corresponding instruments were perceptually and functionally similar, even preschoolers were able to use the analogy to derive a solution to the transfer problem (Experiment 1). Furthermore, salient similarity of the instruments was neither sufficient (Experiment 2) nor necessary (Experiment 3) for success by preschool subjects. When the story analog mapped well onto the transfer problem, 4-year-olds were often able to generate a solution that required transformation of an object with little perceptual or semantic similarity to the instrument used in the base analog (Experiment 3). The older children used analogies in a manner qualitatively similar to that observed in comparable studies with adults (Experiment 1), whereas the younger children exhibited different limitations.

Child↗