THINKING &

PROBLEM SOLVING

DIAMBIL DARI
Samuel R. Mathews, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
The Department of Psychology
The University of West Florida
 Ingatan / Memory

Memory saat ini FUNGSI

MEMPROSES INFORMASI DARI
MENGKODIng utk menjadi memori jangka
panjang
Proses menghubungkan informasi dg memori
(rehearsal relate to how well information can
be retrieved from memory)
Organisasi informasi yg berhubungan dg
seberapa baik informasi dpt diambil & apa yg
dapat dilakukan terhadap informasi tersebut
Berpikir. . Apa bedanya dengan mengingat?

Berpikir tidak hanya melibatkan

mengambil dari informasi tapi melakukan
sesuatu dengan informasi tersebut
Memutuskan sesuatu
Menyelesaikan masalah
Mengambil keputusan
Menciptakan sesuatu
Menemukan sesuatu
Etc.,
 Apa yg terlibat dalam berpikir?

Konsep perwakilan dari kondisi mental

Isi konsep:
Kelas atau kategori (hewan, buku, etc.,)
Atribusi atau karakteristik (merah, tinggi,
menyakitkan)
Abstraksi atau ide tidak terukur (cinta, benci)
Prosedur atau proses (bagamana caranya
untuk ____)
Tujuan atau niat (rencana masa depan)
 Berpikir; apa yg ada dalam otak kita?

Tipe konsep
Alami :
Berdasar pengalaman sehari hari
Biasanya tidak dianalisis sampai kita diminta untuk
mendefinisikan konsepnya
Artificial:
Biasanya berdasar seperangkat pengalaman
formal
Berdasar aturan inklusi atau eksklusi
Biasanya dibentuk dengan usaha yg direncanakan
utk mempelajarinya
 Berpikir; apa yg ada dalam otak kita?

Konsep yg berdasar prototypes:

Perwakilan umum (kebahasaan atau
visualisasi) yg mewakili objek atau kelas tapi
tidak mewakili anggota individual
Misal ide burung tidak secara individual
namun merupakan kombinasi dari atribut2 yg
membuat kita mampu mengidentifikasikan
mana yag burung dan mana yg bukan burung
 Fungsi berpikir: pemecahan masalah

Memecahkan masalah (Problem-

Solving)(Sternberg, 1985; 2004)
Mengenali adanya masalah
Mengawasi situasi untuk mngenali beberapa
tujuan yang tidak tercapai
Mempertimbangkan difinisi beberapa masalah
dengan menganalisa konteks dan
mengidentifikasi tujuan
Menggambarkan atau mengkategorisasikan
informasi mengenai masalah
1. Siklus penyelesaian masalah
(The Problem-Solving Cycle)
Problem Solving
Proses mengatasi rintangan untuk menjawab sebuah
pertanyaan atau untuk mencapai sebuah tujuan
The problem Solving Cycle
1. Identifikasi masalah
Mengenali bahwa kita mempunyai sebuah tujuan atau
solusi yg ada dalam pikiran kita yg belum berkerja dg
baik
2. Definisi dan penggambaran masalah
Menetapkan dan mengambarkan masalah dengan
baik sehingga paham bagaimana mengatasinya
 1. The Problem-Solving Cycle
3. Merumuskan strategi/Strategy formulation
Merencanakan strategi untuk mengatasi
masalah yg mungkin melibatkan
Analysis memecah semua masalah yg kompleks
dalam elemen2 kecil yg lebih dapat dikelola
Synthesis mengumpulkan beragam elemen utk
dikelola menjadi sesuatu yg berguna
Divergent thinking usaha utk menghasilkan
beragam solusi yg memungkinkan yg berbeda-
beda
Convergent thinking mempersempit beragam
kemungkinan menjadi satu solusi pilihan yg terbaik
 1. The Problem-Solving Cycle
4. Mengatur informasi/Organization of Information
Mengatur informasi yg tersedia yg memungkinkan
menerapkan strategi
Mengatur informasi secara strategis, menemukan yg
paling memungkinkan utk mengambarkan
situasi/masalah
5. Alokasi sumberdaya / Resource allocation
Keterbatasan sumber daya (waktu, uang, alat,
tempat,)
Memutudkan seberapa banyak yg akan kita
manfaatkan untuk mengatasi masalah tsb
 1. The Problem-Solving Cycle
6. Memantau /Monitoring
Memantau proses memecahkan masalah utk
memastikan kita mendekati tujuan
Menilai ulang apa yg kita kerjakan untuk dapat
mengimbangi kekurangan
7. Penilaian / Evaluation
Evaluasi perlu dilakukan terhadap solusi setelah
selesai dilakukan
Masalah baru mungkin akan muncul, masalah dapat
didefinisikan ulang, strategi baru mungkin akan
muncul atau tersedia sumber daya baru
 1. The Problem-Solving Cycle
Incubation
Putting the problem aside for a while
Problem will be processed subconsciously
The benefits of incubation can be enhanced in
two ways:
Invest enough time in the problem initially
Allow sufficient time for incubation to permit the
reorganization of information
 2. Types of Problems
1. Well-Structured Problems
Problems with clear paths to their
solutions
Computer simulations of well-defined
problems
Problem space
The universe of all possible actions that can be
applied to solving a problem
Algorithms
Sequences of operations that may be used
recursively (repeated over and over again)
 2. Types of Problems
1. Well-Structured Problems
Humans use heuristics
Informal, intuitive, speculative strategies that
sometimes lead to an effective solution and
sometimes do not
If we store in long-term memory several
simple heuristics that we can apply to a
variety of problems, we can lessen the burden
of our limited-capacity working memory
 2. Types of Problems
1. Well-Structured Problems
Heuristics
1. Means-ends analysis
Analyze the problem by viewing the end (the goal
to be sought) and then try to decrease the distance
between the current position in the problem space
and the end goal in that space
2. Working forward
Start at the beginning and try to solve the problem
from the start to the finish
 2. Types of Problems
1. Well-Structured Problems
Heuristics (cont.)
Working backward
The problem-solver start at the end and tries to
work backward from there
Generate and test
The problem-solver generates a list of alternative
ways of action, not necessarily in systematic way,
and then notices in turn whether each course of
action will work
 2. Types of Problems
1. Well-Structured Problems
Isomorphic Problems
Two problems are isomorphic if their formal
structure is the same, and only their content
differs
E.g. games that involve constructing words
from jumbled or scrambled letters
Problems of Problem Representation
A major determinant of the relative ease of
solving a problem is how the problem is
represented
 2. Types of Problems
2. Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of
Insight
There is no clear, readily available path to
solution
ill-structured problems do not have well-
defined problem spaces, and problem
solvers have difficulty constructing
appropriate mental representations for
modeling these problems and their
solutions
 ?
Try to solve the following problems:

A woman who lived in a small town married 20 different

men in that same town. All of them are still living, and
she never divorced any of them. Yet she broke no laws.
How could she do this?

You have loose black and brown socks in a drawer,

mixed in a ratio of five black socks for every brown one.
How many socks do you have to take out of that drawer
to be assured of having a pair of the same color?
 2. Types of Problems
2. Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of Insight
Insight
a distinctive and sometimes seemingly sudden
understanding of a problem or of a strategy that aids
in solving the problem
Often, an insight involves reconceptualizing a
problem or a strategy for its solution in a totally new
way
Insight can be involved in solving well-structured
problems, but it is more often associated with ill-
structured problems
 2. Types of Problems
2. Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of
Insight
Insight
The Early Gestaltist View
Insight problems require problem solvers to
perceive the problem as a whole
The Nothing-Special View
Insight is merely an extension of ordinary
perceiving, recognizing, learning, and conceiving
 2. Types of Problems
2. Ill-Structured Problems and the Role of
Insight
Insight
The Neo-Gestaltist View
Insightful problem solving can be distinguished
from noninsightful problem solving in two ways:
When given routine problems to solve, problem
solvers show remarkable accuracy in their
ability to predict their own success in solving a
problem
When given insight problems, problem solvers
show poor ability to predict their own success
prior to trying to solve the problems