Levine's Hypotheses Testing Theory

Levine's Hypothesis Testing Theory

Problem-Solving

Psychologists study problem solving in-depth because it is pivotal to human life. Every day we encounter many problems and strive to solve them. Levine has a major contribution in hypothesis testing phenomenon. Psychologists describe the phenomena of problem-solving as a process which regulates itself like a cycle. This cycle consists of the stages of problem-solving through which, a problem-solver passes. However, it does not imply that all the stages be fulfilled sequentially by everyone, rather these stages highlight the basic processes which take place during problem-solving. These include (Davidson, 2003):

Recognition or identification of the problem

Defining and mental presentation of the problem

Strategy development for a solution

Organization of the already-existing knowledge regarding the problem

Realization and organization of the resources present for solving the problem

Constant monitoring of the advancement toward the goal of problem-solving

Lastly, evaluation of the solution for its accuracy

Classes or Types of Problem Solving

In order to study and classify the processes of problem-solving in a systematic way, psychologists have divided the problem-solving into two types or classes; well-defined and ill-defined. The goals and the question at hand are ambiguous and unclear in an ill-defined problem, while on the other hand, a well-defined problem has a straightforward question at hand and is easily comprehensible. To exemplify the process algorithms describe and illustrate each step of problem solving in a well-defined problem. An ill-defined problem in comparison to a well-defined one does not have a clear and specified start point. Thus, ill-defined problems require strategies which are novel and new to the solver. On the other hand, a well-defined problem has a clearly stated start and goals because of which a well-defined problem does not look like a different and unfamiliar situation. The solver might make use of the already-existing information or any previously applied and tested strategy (Goel, 1992).

Discrimination Learning

Problems or situations in life do not occur in a vacuum. They happen due to two-way interaction of the organism with the environment. Discrimination learning is learning in which ways of responding differently to varying stimuli is learnt. These learning might include; perceptual learning or conceptual and learning of the language. This learning might occur at various levels such as higher level learning; the concept, category and language learning. Every person since birth has to learn basic categories of perception, higher level concept and other categories including linguistic labels or concepts. Learning to discriminate refers to the process wherein, the organism discriminates between the stimuli. Discrimination occurs due to either differentiation or unitization. Differentiation results when the human mind learns to separate stimuli into different categories on the basis of the characteristics or traits. Unitization is grouping of similar stimuli into a larger group. Attribution and analysis of the stimuli use these categories (Pashler, n.d).

Concept Learning

Concepts define a disjunction of various combinations of attributes which have one or more shared similarities. Concepts, like categories, can easily be formed by characteristics which might be observable and easily learned. For instance, the concept of “dog” as a dog depicts ...