An Experimental Study On Problem-solving Strategies Of Undergraduates In Conflicting Information

Problem appears when people want to but have no idea about how to achieve some goal. And problem-solving is a series of cognitive processing activity people make when they are in the problem situation. The psychologists have made a lot of research on the principles people follow to solve problems. The strategies in problem-solving can be divided into two types: Algorithm and Heuristics. Algorithm is the strategy depending on logic to solve problems, and is the special program that can certainly get the answer. Heuristics is the strategy depending on experience or the shortcut. People often rely on Heuristics in real life because it can provide solving methods faster than Algorithm. The research on problem-solving also follow two paths according to the two strategies. Information-processing psychology reveals the solving pattern through researches on people in solving manual problems, and stresses on Algorithm strategy. While the other path attends to the deduction people make in daily life and stresses on Heuristics strategy. And this is the research on natural deduction in decision making psychology. There are some simple processing rules in the hypothesis of information processing psychology. Problem solving is seen as a series of purposive cognition processing. The different combination modes can solve different problems. According to this view, to solve a complex problem is to combine the basic processing again and again until the problem was solved. Decision making psychology focuses on the establishment of decision model in natural deduction. This kind of research can be sorted into standard model and descriptive model and the research center transit from the establishment of standard model to descriptive model. The main representatives of the two models are expected utility theory and prospect theory. The early expected utility theory is a standardized behavior theory. It aims to explain how will people behave in the rational decision situation but not to describe the actual behavior. The expected utility theory intends to provide a series of axioms for rational decision. Many scholars enlarged the expected utility theory from different perspectives. The problem in expected utility theory was put up gradually when the research went deepen. Some problems was not solved by expected utility theory, which indicates the expected utility theory is unable yet to describe the real decision behavior. Since so many facts exist contradicting it, lots of scholars abandoned expected utility theory and to find more effective theory. The finite rationality model of Simon is the first model substituted the expected utility theory. Simon believes that people are pursuing satisfaction instead of excellence. The satisfaction here refers to the program which can fill the needs even if it is not the most idealized. There are many theories substituting the expected utility theory after Simon's finite rationality model, among which the most influential one is the prospect theory by Kahneman and Tversky. In prospect theory, the concept of utility in the expected utility theory was substituted by the concept of value. The utility is defined by the net wealth, while value is defined by the double sides who win and loss. Another difference between them is the latent sureness effect. The effect refers to that the influence on the probability reduction caused by the samefactor will be more when the result is certain than possible. The prospect theory is a great progress to the expected utility theory, for many phenomena contravening the expected utility theory can be well explained in prospect theory. As to research method, the oral report and the computer simulation was developed in information processing psychology. In spite of the problematic assumption of two methods, they were broadly used and made great contributions to problem solving research. The decision psychology pays attention to the choice experiment and field experiment. These experiments also have problems and the prominent ones are that the experiment condition is not controlled strictly and the result is difficult to explain. However, just as the oral report and computer simulation, these methods can be good as long as we apply them in appropriate problem and not overstep their applying scope. The problems in real life are often illegible, overabundant and even paradoxical. Former scholars investigated deeply and extensive on problem solving in clearly manual situation, rational decision and systematic warp in decision. However, it is almost blank about how people deduce and make decision in conditions of information lack and information contradiction. And it is the purpose of this experiment that what strategy will people use in information contradicting condition. The study chose the fake goal experiment and impressed subjects in name of group cooperation, while the real purpose is to investigate that what strategy will people use in information contradicting condition. Using the log-linear models to analyze data obtained and discussed on the result. The conclusion was: 1. Majority of people(91.4%)in daily life did not deduce...