Topic
The Nature of Problem Solving
Instructions
Our short paper assignment for the week deals with the nature of problem solving. Start your paper by briefly describing a life problem that you ultimately solved. Next, try to explain how you solved the problem: (iI.e. Heuristic? Analogy? Algorithm?) Then, try to explain why the problem was difficult to solve initially (i.e. were you making false assumptions? mental set? functional fixedness? did you get stuck in problem space?). Conclude your paper by explaining which of the problem solving approaches described in chapter 11 (Behaviorist, Gestalt, or Cognitive) explains how you solved the problem and also explain how you came to this conclusion.
Answer Preview
In February 2015, my sister casually mentioned the presence of Syrian refugees within her city during her weekly phone call. I asked her how Syrian refugees had managed to flee over more than a thousand miles to reach Europe, but she did not give me a clear answer. She also mentioned that she had begun to use a different route to work for the sake of convenience. I decided to find as much information as I could about the Syrian refugee crisis and European countries that had opted to take a number of them as citizens. I was shocked to find that only Germany has openly welcomed refugees to live within its borders. I was also extremely that Syrian refugees have openly attacked European citizens in separate incidents, in the nation where my sister resides. I realized that my sister has chosen not to reveal to us the true level of insecurity that now characterizes daily life in her host nation. I was extremely concerned about her safety, and decided to raise the possibility of her coming back to her native country.
Word Count: 950