Brain Story Certification Exam Questions and Answers| Graded A+

Problem A situation in which there is an obstacle between a present state and a goal state and it is not immediately obvious how to get around the obstacle Restructuring the process of changing the problem's representation according to Gestalt psychologists, this is the key mechanism in problem solving Gestalt Psychologist Problem Solving all about... 1. How people represent a problem in their mind 2. How solving a problem involves this restructuring or reorganizing of this representation Insight a sudden realization of a problem's solution Analytically based problems problem that is solved by a process of systematic analysis often uses techniques based on past experience Fixation people's tendency to focus on a specific characteristic of the problem that keeps them from arriving at a solution functional fixedness an effect that occurs when the ideas a person has about an object's function inhibit the person's ability to use the object for a different function Example: two string problem candle problem A problem in which a person is given a number of objects and is given the task of mounting a candle on a wall so it can burn without dripping wax on the floor. This problem was used to study functional fixedness. First described by Duncker two-string problem A problem in which a person is given the task of attaching two strings together that are too far apart to be reached at the same time. This task was devised to illustrate the operation of functional fixedness. First described by Maier Mental Set A preconceived notion about how to approach a problem, which is determined by a person's experience or what has worked in the past.