#redirect [[Problem solving#Common barriers to problem solving]]
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</ref>German, T. P., & Defeyter, M. A. (2000). Immunity to functional fixedness in young children. ''Psychonomic Bulletin & Review'', ''7''(4), 707-712. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.biola.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=2001-14334-015&login.asp&site=ehost-live</ref>
</ref>Kershaw, T. C., & Ohlsson, S. (2004). Multiple causes of difficulty in insight: The case of the nine-dot problem. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 30(1), 3-13. doi: 10.1037/0278-7393.30.1.3</ref>
</ref>Nickerson, R. S. (1998). Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. ''Review of General Psychology'', ''2''(2), 175-220. doi:
10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175</ref>
</ref>Ollinger, M., Jones, G., & Knoblich, G. (2008). Investigating the effect of mental set on insight problem soving. ''Experimental Psychology'', ''55''(4), 269-282. doi: 10.1027/1618-3169.55.4.269</ref>
</ref>Wiley, J. (1998). Expertise as mental set: The effects of ___domain knowledge in creative problem solving. ''Memory & Cognition'', ''24''(4), 716-730. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.biola.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=psyh&AN=1998-10386-011&login.asp&site=ehost-live</ref>
Researchers have discovered and articulated certain mental processes that work to thwart one’s ability to solve a given problem efficiently. This review intends to provide an overview of three common processes that act as barriers to problem solving: confirmation bias, mental set, fixation, and functional fixedness.
Within the field of science there exists a fundamental standard named the Scientific Method, which describes the process of discovering facts or truths about the world through unbiased consideration of all pertinent information, and impartial observation of and/or experimentation with that information. According to this theory, one is able to most accurately find a solution to a perceived problem by performing the aforementioned steps. The Scientific Method is not a process that is limited to scientists, but rather it is one that all people can practice in their respective fields of work as well as in their personal lives. Confirmation bias is in essence one’s unconscious corruption of the scientific method. Thus when one demonstrates confirmation bias, he or she is formally or informally collecting data, and then subsequently observing and experimenting with that data in such a way that favors a preconceived notion that may or may not have motivation<ref></ref>. Motivation refers to one’s desire to defend or find substantiation for beliefs (e.g., religious beliefs) that are important to him or her. According to Nickerson (), those involved in committing the genocide that occurred from the 1400s to 1600s demonstrated confirmation bias with motivation. In Nickerson’s experiment of
Researchers Öllinger, Jones, and Knoblich (2008) have worked to. Mental set was articulated by the Researcher Luchins in the, and it describes one’s inclination to attempt to solve problems in such a way that has proved successful in previous experiences. However, such methods for finding a solution that have worked in the past may not be adequate or optimal for certain similar problems. Therefore, people must seek to move beyond their mental sets in order to find solutions. When people rigidly cling to their mental sets, they are said to be experiencing fixation. In the 1930s Maier performed an experiment, which worked to demonstrate the phenomenon of Mental Set and fixation. Likewise, researcher Jennifer Wiley (1998) worked to
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