ABSTRACT
Problem-solving cycles break down the problem-solving process into a logical sequence of stages, and thereby help both to describe the kinds of activities that lead to effective problem-solving behavior and to identify useful areas for research. Problem-solving cycles are useful both as tools for guiding effective, practical problem solving and as a way of identifying areas for research. Well-structured problems provide the basis for important computational theories of problem solving. People can learn to apply heuristics and to become more effective at solving well-structured problems. Most problems we encounter are ill-structured and have no clearly defined paths to their goal state. In many cases, the solutions to these problems suddenly appear in consciousness having apparently been generated by insight. Problem solving may be obstructed by a mental set that leads someone to apply an inappropriate solution technique because it has worked for other problems that appear similar, but are not.
