Question

6. (2) Means-end analysis is important because it is the way people go about solving many everyday problems. For example, let’s say you realize that your car is leaking oil and needs to be taken in for service. Assuming you cannot just immediately drive the car to a mechanic, describe the initial state, the goal state and at least two subgoals you might break the problem into.

Answer 1

Means-end analysis is used to solve regular everyday problems. The person first begins with the actual solution to the problem. However, if it cannot be immediately resolved, a person resorts to subgoals. The subgoals are an inbetween, quick fix solutions in order to reduce the discrepancy between the initial state and the goal state.

For instance, in the above example, your car is leaking oil. The initial state would be that of helplessness. You need to go out, and suddenly you notice that oil leakage. The goal state is to get it fixed by driving to the mechanic which is not something you can do immediately. The two subgoals that might break the problem is, first, resort to a quick fix solution like additives like no leak or equivalents to stop the leakage temporarily. Second subgoal would be to just leave the car behind and take a cab. These subgoals reduce the discrepancy between feeling helpless about the oil leakage and driving the car to a mechanic to fix it.