Common barriers to problem solving: Difference between revisions

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'''Common barriers to problem solving''' are mental constructs that impede our ability to correctly solve problems. These barriers prevent people from solving problems in the most efficient manner possible. Five of the most common processes and factors that researchers have identified as barriers to problem solving are ''[[confirmation bias]], mental set, functional fixedness, unnecessary constraints, and irrelevant information.''

==Confirmation Bias==

Within the field of science there exists a fundamental standard termed 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]] can be described as one’s unconscious or unintentional 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|''motivation'']].<ref>Nickerson, R. S. (1998) Confirmation bias: A ubiquitous phenomenon in many guises. Review of General Psychology, 2(2), 176. doi: 10.1037/1089-2680.2.2.175.</ref> Interestingly, research has found that professionals within scientific fields of study also experience confirmation bias. In Andreas Hergovich, Reinhard Schott, and Christoph Burger's experiment conducted online, for instance, it was discovered that professionals within the field of psychological research are likely to view scientific studies that are congruent with their preconceived understandings more favorably than studies that are incongruent with their established beliefs.<ref>Hergovich, Schott, Burger (2010). Biased evaluation of abstracts depending on topic and conclusion: Further evidence of a confirmation bias within scientific psychology. ''Current Psychology: A Journal for Diverse Perspectives on Diverse Psychological Issues,'' 29(3), 188-209.</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.<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> According to Raymond Nickerson, one can see the consequences of confirmation bias in real life situations, which range in severity from inefficient government policies to genocide. With respect to the latter and most severe ramification of this cognitive barrier, Nickerson argued that those involved in committing genocide of persons accused of [[Witch-hunt|witchcraft,]] an atrocity that occurred from the 1400s to 1600s AD, demonstrated confirmation bias with motivation. Researcher Michael Allen found evidence for confirmation bias with motivation in school children who worked to manipulate their science experiments in such a way that would produce their hoped for results.<ref>Allen (2011). Theory-led confirmation bias and experimental persona. ''Research in Science & Technological Education,'' 29(1), 107-127.</ref> However, confirmation bias does not necessarily require motivation. In 1960, [[Peter Cathcart Wason]] conducted an experiment in which participants first viewed three numbers and then created a hypothesis that proposed a rule that could have been used to create that triplet of numbers. When testing their hypotheses, participants tended to only create additional triplets of numbers that would confirm their hypotheses, and tended not to create triplets that would negate or disprove their hypotheses. Thus research also shows that people can and do work to confirm theories or ideas that do not support or engage personally significant beliefs. <ref>Wason, P. C. (1960). On the failure to eliminate hypotheses in a conceptual task. Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 12, 129-140. </ref>

==Mental Set==

Mental set was first articulated by [[Abraham_SAbraham S._Luchins Luchins|Abraham Luchins]] in the 1940s and demonstrated in his well-known water jug experiments.<ref>Luchins, A. S. (1942). Mechanization in problem solving: The effect of Einstellung. Psychological Monographs, 54 (Whole No. 248).</ref> In these experiments, participants were asked to fill one jug with a specific amount of water using only other jugs (typically three) with different maximum capacities as tools. After Luchins gave his participants a set of water jug problems that could all be solved by employing a single technique, he would then give them a problem that could either be solved using that same technique or a novel and simpler method. Luchins discovered that his participants tended to use the same technique that they had become accustomed to despite the possibility of using a simpler alternative. <ref>Öllinger, Jones, & Knoblich (2008). Investigating the effect of mental set on insight problem solving. ''Experimental Psychology',' 55(4), 269–270.</ref> Thus mental set describes one’s inclination to attempt to solve problems in such a way that has proved successful in previous experiences. However, as Luchins' work revealed, such methods for finding a solution that have worked in the past may not be adequate or optimal for certain new but similar problems. Therefore, it is often necessary for people to move beyond their mental sets in order to find solutions. This was again demonstrated in [[Norman Maier]]'s 1931 experiment, which challenged participants to solve a problem by using a household object (pliers) in an unconventional manner. Maier observed that participants were often unable to view the object in a way that strayed from its typical use, a phenomenon regarded as a particular form of mental set (more specifically known as functional fixedness, which is the topic of the following section). When people cling rigidly to their mental sets, they are said to be experiencing ''fixation'', which is thus the psychological term used to describe a seeming obsession or preoccupation with attempted strategies that are repeatedly unsuccessful.<ref>^ Wiley, J. (1998). Expertise as mental set: The effects of ___domain knowledge in creative problem solving. Memory & Cognition, 24(4), 716-730.</ref> In the late 1990s, researcher Jennifer Wiley worked to reveal that expertise can work to create a mental set in persons considered to be experts in certain fields, and she furthermore gained evidence that the mental set created by expertise could lead to the development of 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>

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Functional fixedness limits the ability for people to solve problems accurately by causing one to have a very narrow way of thinking. Functional fixedness can be seen in other types of learning behaviors as well. For instance, research has discovered the presence of functional fixedness in many educational instances. Researchers Furio, Calatayud, Baracenas, and Padilla stated that “... functional fixedness may be found in learning concepts as well as in solving chemistry problems.” <ref>Furio, C., Calatayud, M. L., Baracenas, S, L., and Padilla, O, M., Functional fixedness and functional reduction as common sense reasonings in chemical equilibrium and in geometry and polarity of molecules. Valencia, Spain. Science Education. 84. (5), 2000.</ref> There was more emphasis on this function being seen in this type of subject and others.

There are several hypotheses in regards to how functional fixedness relates to problem solving. <ref>Adamson, Robert E., Functional fixedness as related to problem solving: A repetition of three experiments. Stanford University. California. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 44 (4), 1952.</ref> There are also many ways in which a person can run into problems while thinking of a particular object with having this function. If there is one way in which a person usually thinks of something rather thenthan multiple ways then this can lead to a constraint in how the person thinks of that particular object. This can be seen as narrow minded thinking, which is defined as a way in which one is not able to see or accept certain ideas in a particular context. Functional fixedness is very closely related to this as previously mentioned. This can be done intentionally and or unintentionally, but for the most part it seems as if this process to problem solving is done in an unintentional way.

Functional fixedness can affect problem solvers in at least two particular ways. The first is with regards to time, as functional fixedness causes people to use more time than necessary to solve any given problem. Secondly, functional fixedness often causes solvers to make more attempts to solve a problem than they would have made if they were not experiencing this cognitive barrier. In the worst case, functional fixedness can completely prevent a person from realizing a solution to a problem. Functional fixedness is a commonplace occurrence, which effects the lives of many people

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'''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 timesOftentimes

''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>

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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 used on tests as a strategy to remove ''Irrelevant Information,'' which 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 its usefulness is essential. Being aware of ''Irrelevant Information'' is the first step in overcoming this common barrier.

==References==

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[[Category:Problem solving]]