Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 140-146).

Recent studies have advanced our knowledge of factors that could affect problem solving performance, and also of the positive effects of problem solving ability on fitness measures (the ‘what’ of problem solving). However, a missing linkage exists between this ‘what’ and the corresponding ‘how’. Such linkage requires the understanding of how these factors contribute to problem solving. Therefore, the central aim of this thesis is to examine this ‘how’. The roles of learning and behavioural flexibility in the context of problem solving are shown across the experiments, primarily with laboratory and free-ranging grey squirrels and to a lesser extent with wild red squirrels. Under a recurring change, laboratory grey squirrels showed a rapid decrease in the number of errors they made per reversal phase in a serial spatial reversal learning task. Such efficiency is achieved by a gradual tactic change, from sequential to integrative tactics, with increased experience. It also involves support from cognitive mechanisms such as attention and inhibitory control. In a puzzle box task, wild grey squirrels showed that they were better problem solvers than the wild red squirrels. However, red squirrels that solved the puzzle box were more efficient than the grey solvers. Detailed analysis of the results showed that learning and flexibility play independent roles in problem solving. Each process is associated with particular traits that to increase efficiency. For grey squirrels, behavioural selectivity (effective behaviours) and persistence increased with increased experience. Flexibility, however, showed minimal positive effect for them, given that it decreased behavioural selectivity. In contrast, flexibility primarily provided a positive effect for red squirrels’ solving efficiency. These results showed that the two species appear to use both similar and different cognitive processes in solving the task. The discussion gathers the results and explores how learning and flexibility, along with other behavioural traits, vary in their contributions to problem solving performance. As learning and flexibility are definitely not limited in problem solving, the discussion also addresses how these two processes might be involved a construct of general intelligence (‘g’) in animals, and how they are relevant to wilder ecological aspects.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1993. / Bibliography: leaves 116-128.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Tulsa, 1993. / Bibliography: leaves 116-128.

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The main purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of problem solving approaches on pre-service elementary teachers&rsquo / basic mathematics achievement, problem- solving performance and their self regulated learning. The study was conducted as quasi - experimental design with 110 elementary school pre-service teachers at a public university in Central Anatolia Region in the 2007-2008 academic year during the second semester. The time duration of the study was 12 weeks. Experimental group was instructed by questioning problem solving approach while control group was instructed by traditional problem solving approach. The data were collected through Basic Mathematics Achievement Test, Mathematical Problem Solving Test, Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire, Treatment Evaluation Form, interviews and observation checklists. The quantitative data was analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance. The results revealed that questioning problem solving approach had a statistically significant effect on pre-service elementary school teachers&rsquo / basic mathematics achievement, problem solving performance, task value, and control of learning beliefs, metacognitive self-regulation and effort regulation. However, there was no statistically significant mean difference between the experimental and control group in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic goal orientation, self-efficacy for learning and performance, test anxiety, rehersal, elaboration, organisation, critical thinking, time and study environment management, peer learning and help seeking. In addition the interview results showed that questioning problem solving approach had developed pre-service teachers&rsquo / skills on Polya&rsquo / s problem solving phase which were devising a plan and looking back. The common opinions among the students about the qustioning problem solving approach that questioning problem solving approach improved their problem solving skills and they learned new ways of solution through class discussions. Moreover, they implied that they learned to think differently.

This study investigated the effects of a technological problem solving activity, specifically the 2004 No Limits FIRST™ LEGO™ League Robotics Challenge, on student participants' problem solving styles and performances. Previous research suggested that problem solving styles and performances could be influenced in children who are developing cognitively. Thirty-six 9-14 year old males and females were selected from officially registered FLL teams in the Virginia Department of Education Regions 6 & 7 of Southwest Virginia. Student participants self-assessed their technological problem solving confidence, approach/avoidance styles, and personal control during said activity three times over an eight week period. Two raters directly observed four dimensions of technological problem solving (problem clarification, developing a design, modeling/prototyping, and evaluating the design solution) at four points during the same eight-week time frame. Simple ANOVA, Repeated Measures ANOVA, MANOVA, Regression Analyses, and Qualitative Analyses were used to analyze the data. Female FLL student participants aged 9-14 perceived their overall technological problem solving style no differently than did 9-14 year old males. Gender alone showed no significant differences in performance; however, without any formal training or coursework, 9-14 year old FLL student participants showed significant increases in confidence, overall technological problem solving styles, problem clarification, developing a design, evaluating a design solution, and overall technological problem solving performance in only eight weeks. / Ph. D.

S’approvisionner en nourriture est essentiel à la survie et au succès reproducteur. Lorsque les animaux font face à des changements environnementaux brutaux, ils doivent s’ajuster rapidement à leur nouvel environnement et parfois même innover dans leur façon de s’approvisionner. Des processus comportementaux et cognitifs, tels que l’innovation et l’apprentissage, permettent aux animaux d'intégrer de nouveaux comportements à leur répertoire comportemental afin de s'adapter de façon optimale. Les performances cognitives varient entre les individus d’une même population et bien que des études récentes se soient intéressées aux causes de ce phénomène, de convaincantes évidences sont manquantes afin d’expliquer pourquoi ces variations sont maintenues. Au cours de ce mémoire, les questions des pressions de sélection s'exerçant sur les performances d’alimentation par une tâche motrice nouvelle sont abordées afin de mieux comprendre l'évolution des capacités cognitives au sein d'une population captive de diamants mandarins (Taeniopygia guttata). Nous avons tout d'abord testé si les femelles diamants mandarins modifient leurs préférences d'accouplement après avoir observé la performance d'alimentation par une tâche motrice nouvelle des mâles. Afin de déterminer si les femelles sont capables de discriminer entre les mâles sur la base de leur capacité cognitive, nous avons également évalué les performances d’apprentissage de chacune d’elles. En effet, des études ont suggéré qu’il peut être coûteux, spécialement en terme de temps, de discriminer entre des partenaires potentiels sur cette base. La généralisation d’une préférence pour un mâle performant à d’autres mâles possédant le même phénotype permettrait la réduction de ces coûts. Nous avons donc finalement testé si les femelles diamants mandarins peuvent généraliser leur préférence après avoir observé les performances d’alimentation pour une tâche motrice nouvelle d’un mâle. Nos résultats suggèrent que les femelles diamants mandarins ne peuvent évaluer les capacités cognitives d’un mâle par l’intermédiaire de traits indicateurs. Toutefois, nous avons démontré qu’une observation directe des performances d’alimentation d’un mâle guide le choix d’appariement des femelles. Également, nous avons montré que les femelles peuvent généraliser l’apparence du mâle le plus performant et utiliser cette information lors de l’évaluation de nouveaux mâles. La relation entre les performances cognitives et le choix de partenaire pourraient s’expliquer par exemple par une meilleure exploitation de l’habitat, mais nécessite des études plus approfondies. / Successful foraging is essential for survival and reproductive success. When animals face rapidly change due to climate change or anthropogenic habitat destruction, they are force to quickly adjust their behaviour such as foraging. Innovation and learning, two processes related to cognitive functions, are know to allow animals to incorporate novel behaviours into their behavioural repertoires and thus to facilitate optimal responses to environmental change. Cognitive performance vary between and within individuals and although several studies have rencently addressed the causes, convicing evidences for why inter-individual variations in cognitive performance are maintained in a population are still lacking. During my Masters, I investigated different selective pressures acting on foraging performance on a novel motor task to better understand the evolution of cognitive abilities in a captive population of zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Firstly, we investigated whether female zebra finches modify their mating preferences after having observed the foraging performance of males on a novel motor task. We also assessed each bird’s learning performance in a color associative task in order to check whether females could discriminate between the two males based on their learning performance. Discriminating among mates based on their cognitive ability might be very costly for females, especially in terms of time. Therefore, one way to reduce the cost of assessing mate would be to generalize their preferences to any male with the same phenotype as the most efficient observed individual. We finaly investigated whether female zebra finches can generalize their mating preferences after having observed a male’s foraging performance on a novel motor task. Our findings suggest that female zebra finches would be unable to assess male cognitive ability indirectly via morphological traits. However our results demonstrate that direct observation of the males’ performance on a foraging task can guide female mating preferences. We also demonstrates that female zebra finches can generalize the appearance of the male that is the most efficient at solving a motor task and then use this information to assessing new males. The relationship between cognitive performance and mating preference might be mediated throught habitat exploitation for example, but requires further investigation.