Common barriers to problem solving: Difference between revisions

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==Irrelevant Information==
 
Irrelevant information is information presented within a problem that is unrelated or unimportant to the
Another common barrier to problem solving is ''irrelevant information''. Irrelevant
information is information presented within a problem that is unrelated or unimportant to the
specific problem.<ref>Kellogg, R. T. (2003). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). California: Sage Publications, Inc.</ref> Within the specific context of the problem, irrelevant
information would serve no purpose in helping solve that particular problem. Often times
''irrelevant information'' is detrimental to the problem solving process. It is a common barrier
that many people have trouble getting through, especially if they are not aware of it. ''Irrelevant information'' makes solving otherwise relatively simple problems, much harder.<ref>Walinga, Jennifer. (2010). From walls to windows: Using barriers as pathways to insightful solutions. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 44, 143-167. doi: 10.1002/j.2162- 6057.2010.tb01331.x</ref>

For example:
Fifteen percent of the people in Topeka have unlisted telephone numbers. You select 200
names at random from the Topeka phone book. How many of these people have unlisted phone
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The people that are not listed in the phone book would not be among the 200 names you
selected.
selected. Here we see a classic example of ''Irrelevant Information''. The individual looking at this task would naturally,
 
asThe wouldindividual mostlooking at this task would peoplenaturally, want to use the 15% given to them in the problem. They see that there
is information present and they immediately think that it needs to be used. This of course is not
true. These kinds of questions are often used to test students taking aptitude tests or cognitive
evaluations.<ref>Walinga, Jennifer, Cunningham, J. Barton, & MacGregor, James N. (2011). Training insight problem solving through focus on barriers and assumptions. The Journal of Creative Behavior.</ref> They aren’t meant to be difficult but they are meant to require thinking that is not
necessarily common. Most of the time we see ''Irrelevant Information'' is commonly represented in math problems, word problems
specifically, were numerical information is put for the purpose of challenging the individual.
 
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represented visually.
 
Now if the same problem was asked, but it was also accompanied by thea
corresponding graph above, it would be far easier to answer this question; ''Irrelevant Information'' no longer becomes a road block. HereBy representing the problem visually, wethere canare seeno howdifficult
words to understand or scenarios to imagine. WeThe havevisual representation of this problem has removed virtuallythe difficulty of solving allit. cumbersome
''Irrelevant Information'' no longer becomes a road block. By representing the problem visually, there are no difficult
words to understand or scenarios to imagine. We have removed virtually all cumbersome
information and simply displayed the paragraph visually.
 
These types of representations are often used to make difficult problems easier.<ref>Vlamings, Petra H. J. M., Hare, Brian, & Call, Joseph. Reaching around barriers: The performance of great apes and 3-5-year-old children. Animal Cognition, 13, 273-285. doi: 10.1007/s10071-009-0265-5</ref> They can
be a strategy used to on tests to remove ''Irrelevant Information'' and allow for those barriers to be taken down. This
is one of the most common forms of barriers when discussing the issues of problem solving.<ref>Kellogg, R. T. (2003). Cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). California: Sage Publications, Inc.</ref>
Identifying crucial information presented in a problem and then being able to correctly identify it's usefulness is essential. Being aware of ''Irrelevant Information'' is the first step in overcoming this common barrier.
However, like with most things, when you are made aware of them or have practiced finding and
dealing with them enough, it becomes easier to remove that barrier.
 
==References==