The Psychology of Problem Solving

Janet E. Davidson, Robert J. Sternberg

Cambridge University Press, Jun 9, 2003 - Medical - 394 pages

Problems are a central part of human life. The goal of The Psychology of Problem Solving is to organize in one volume what is known about problem solving and the factors that contribute to its success or failure. Unlike typical books on problem solving that are organized by content areas, such as mathematics and natural science, this book is organized by factors that affect problem solving performance, such as motivation, emotion, intellectual abilities, and working memory. The book constitutes the most thorough and up-to-date examination of problem solving currently available.

Contents

• Recognizing Defining and Representing Problems: 3
• The Acquisition of Expert Performance as Problem: 31
• Is Success or Failure at Solving Complex Problems Related: 87
• A Source of Difficulty in Problem Solving: 127
• Insights about Insightful Problem Solving: 149
• The Role of Working Memory in Problem Solving: 176
• Comprehension of Text in Problem Solving: 207
• Motivating SelfRegulated Problem Solvers: 233
• The Fundamental Computational Biases of Human: 291
• Analogical Transfer in Problem Solving: 343
• Problem Solving LargeSmall HardEasy: 373
• Index: 385

About the author

Janet E. Davidson is Associate Professor of Psychology at Lewis & Clark College, where she won the Professor of the Year award in 1997. She does research on several aspects of giftedness, including the roles that insight and metacognitive skils play in gifted problem solving performance. In 1988, she won a Mensa Education and Research Foundation Award for Excellence.

Robert J. Sternberg is currently Provost and Senior Vice President at Oklahoma State University as well as Regents Professor of Psychology and Education and George Kaiser Family Foundation Professor of Ethical Leadership. Before that, he was Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Tufts University, where he was also professor of psychology and education. Prior to that, he was IBM Professor of Psychology and Education and Professor of Management at Yale University. Sternberg received his Ph.D. from Stanford and is the recipient of 13 honorary doctorates. In addition, he has won more than two dozen awards for his work. He is a former president of the American Psychological Association and is currently president of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Scienes. He is the author of roughly 1,500 books, articles, and book chapters.

Bibliographic information

• Title: The Psychology of Problem Solving
• Editors: Janet E. Davidson, Robert J. Sternberg
• Edition: illustrated, reprint
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press, 2003
• ISBN: 0521797411, 9780521797412
• Length: 394 pages
• Subjects: Medical / Mental Health; Psychology / Cognitive Psychology