Common barriers to problem solving: Difference between revisions

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''Mental set'' was articulated by researcher Luchins (1942) and demonstrated in his well-known water jug experiments. ''Mental Set'' describes one’s inclination to attempt to solve problems in such a way that has proved successful in previous experiences.<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> 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''. In his experiment, participants to were confronted with a problem, which could be solved by using pliers in an unconventional manner. Participants inability to view the pliers in a way that strayed from its typical use was regarded as a ''mental set.'' Participants then entered a state of ''fixation'' when they could not move past their established ''mental sets''.<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> Likewise, researcher Jennifer Wiley (1998) worked to reveal that persons with expertise in certain fields are at a disadvantage when solving problems that may conflict with their specialized field knowledge. She discovered that expertise works to create a ''mental set'' in participants, which in turn works to create ''fixation.''<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>