Psy 416: Reasoning and Problem Solving
E. Segal
Five to eight pages. Use references and follow APA style for identifying the sources of your information. Include a citation list called References at the end of your paper, again following APA style. At least one of the references should come from the bibliography included with the syllabus. The topic should be an expansion or a variant of one of the many issues or discussions found in the lecture, text, or readings. It should be a coherent paper which includes an awareness of both normative and cognitive issues. You should discuss not only what people do or think, but also what the nature of the task is and what counts as a success.
Here are four possible frames for your term paper. You may email me with other possibilities.
1. Discuss problem solving in some domain of your choosing (e.g., physics, computer science, chess, baseball, law). Include some examples of problems; identify the problem space(s). Discuss the initial conditions that are likely to prevail. Discuss whether the problems can be seen as well defined, or ill defined, and whether they are solvable by convergent or divergent processes. Discuss something about what the problem-solver may need to know in order to be relatively successful in solving the problem.
2. Identify a domain (or an expert in a domain) and discuss some of the differences between novice and expert performance in the domain. Identify some of the factors or issues that are involved in the development of expertise in that domain (or for that person).
3. Consider two or more domains within which problem solving occurs. Discuss from a cognitive or analytic perspective what it is that differentiates experts in one of the domains from experts in the other domain(s). What about their histories are similar and different? What conclusions about the nature of problem solving might you draw from the comparison?
4. Discuss some aspects of reasoning or problem solving under one of the classical categories, e.g., developmental, expertise, creativity, intelligence, decision processes, logic, role of physical, social, or historical context. What are some of the behavioral and conceptual issues involved? What kinds of claims are made? What justification do they have? What is its current state?