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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, the [[scientific method]], which outlines 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>
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