ABSTRACT
This chapter addresses problem solving from cognitive and scientific perspectives. The structuredness of problems is significantly related to the situatedness of problems. That is, well-structured problems tend to be more abstract and decontextualized, relying more on defined rules and less on context. In everyday problems that tend to be more ill-structured, context plays a much more significant role in the cognitive activities engaged by the problem. The context in which problems are embedded becomes a significant part of the problem and necessarily part of its solution. Many problems have correct solutions but multiple solution paths or multiple rules governing the process. Decision problems usually require comparing and contrasting the advantages and disadvantages of alternate solutions. Dilemmas may be the most ill-structured and unpredictable, often because there is no solution that will ever be acceptable to a significant portion of the people affected by the problem.
