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"Problem Solving"
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Task complexity moderates group synergy
Complexity—defined in terms of the number of components and the nature of the interdependencies between them—is clearly a relevant feature of all tasks that groups perform. Yet the role that task complexity plays in determining group performance remains poorly understood, in part because no clear language exists to express complexity in a way that allows for straightforward comparisons across tasks. Here we avoid this analytical difficulty by identifying a class of tasks for which complexity can be varied systematically while keeping all other elements of the task unchanged. We then test the effects of task complexity in a preregistered two-phase experiment in which 1,200 individuals were evaluated on a series of tasks of varying complexity (phase 1) and then randomly assigned to solve similar tasks either in interacting groups or as independent individuals (phase 2). We find that interacting groups are as fast as the fastest individual and more efficient than the most efficient individual for complex tasks but not for simpler ones. Leveraging our highly granular digital data, we define and precisely measure group process losses and synergistic gains and show that the balance between the two switches signs at intermediate values of task complexity. Finally, we find that interacting groups generate more solutions more rapidly and explore the solution space more broadly than independent problem solvers, finding higher-quality solutions than all but the highest-scoring individuals.
Journal Article
Rapid trial-and-error learning with simulation supports flexible tool use and physical reasoning
Many animals, and an increasing number of artificial agents, display sophisticated capabilities to perceive and manipulate objects. But human beings remain distinctive in their capacity for flexible, creative tool use—using objects in new ways to act on the world, achieve a goal, or solve a problem. To study this type of general physical problem solving, we introduce the Virtual Tools game. In this game, people solve a large range of challenging physical puzzles in just a handful of attempts. We propose that the flexibility of human physical problem solving rests on an ability to imagine the effects of hypothesized actions, while the efficiency of human search arises from rich action priors which are updated via observations of the world. We instantiate these components in the “sample, simulate, update” (SSUP) model and show that it captures human performance across 30 levels of the Virtual Tools game. More broadly, this model provides a mechanism for explaining how people condense general physical knowledge into actionable, task-specific plans to achieve flexible and efficient physical problem solving.
Journal Article
The effect of STEM problem-based learning on students’ mathematical problem-solving beliefs
The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to investigate the effect of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) problem-based learning (PBL) intervention on students’ problem-solving beliefs (PSB). To this end, the PSB questionnaire was administered to a group of eighty-six 10th graders across different socio-economic spectra working with an expert facilitator in a rural school that received curricular support and resources to specifically develop STEM teaching in eastern South Africa. The sample participated in two time periods (pre- vs. post-intervention) in which problem-based activities were utilized. A quantitative evaluation of the impact of an intervention on students’ subsequent beliefs as well as qualitative analysis of interviews with a sample of fourteen purposively selected students is presented. Results showed that participants increased their mathematical PSB (p<.001 , d=.50 ). The implications of these findings speak to the potential for teachers to utilize the results to provide opportunities for students to experience PBL activities.
Journal Article
Strategic supplier relationships and supply chain resilience: Is digital transformation that precludes trust beneficial?
PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the role that communication, trust and digital transformation can play in the relationship between joint problem-solving and supply chain resilience. More specifically, the authors try to examine the possibility of digital transformation as a replacement for trust within a joint problem-solving context.Design/methodology/approachA survey instrument was developed and administrated to manufacturing firms within the United Kingdom and the United States. Based on data collected from 291 senior managers, multiple linear regressions were conducted through a customized process model to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results point to the actual impact of digital transformation being far more complicated than the initial benefits that it appears to bring within a supply chain. Thus, technology is only effective when applied within the right context. The authors showcase that the trio of digital transformation, trust and joint problem-solving can be highly valuable to establish supply chain resilience and that further investigation on the interrelationships between these concepts is warranted.Practical implicationsManufacturing firms that aim to adopt new technologies should not consider advanced digital technologies as an alternative to trust. While digital transformation can improve resource sharing and integration, governance mechanisms–such as trust–will remain the cornerstones of strategic supplier relationships. Therefore, supply chain partners must strive to achieve a balance between trust and the right type of digital technology.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the growing literature focusing on the role that digital transformation can play in developing supply chain capabilities. It adds an early empirical insight on the role of technology and governance in joint problem-solving and supply chain resilience.
Journal Article
Time course of EEG power during creative problem‐solving with insight or remote thinking
Problem‐solving often requires creativity and is critical in everyday life. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative problem‐solving remain poorly understood. Two mechanisms have been highlighted: the formation of new connections among problem elements and insight solving, characterized by sudden realization of a solution. In this study, we investigated EEG activity during a modified version of the remote associates test, a classical insight problem task that requires finding a word connecting three unrelated words. This allowed us to explore the brain correlates associated with the semantic remoteness of connections (by varying the remoteness of the solution word across trials) and with insight solving (identified as a Eurêka moment reported by the participants). Semantic remoteness was associated with power increase in the alpha band (8–12 Hz) in a left parieto‐temporal cluster, the beta band (13–30 Hz) in a right fronto‐temporal cluster in the early phase of the task, and the theta band (3–7 Hz) in a bilateral frontal cluster just prior to participants' responses. Insight solving was associated with power increase preceding participants' responses in the alpha and gamma (31–60 Hz) bands in a left temporal cluster and the theta band in a frontal cluster. Source reconstructions revealed the brain regions associated with these clusters. Overall, our findings shed new light on some of the mechanisms involved in creative problem‐solving. In this article, we explored brain EEG correlates associated with two neurocognitive mechanisms involved in creative problem‐solving: the formation of new connections among problem elements, and insight solving characterized by a sudden realization of a solution.
Journal Article