Obstacles to Solving Problems

Effective problem solving is tied to many factors, including the right level of motivation or emotion. Too little emotion does not motivate, and too much may hinder the process of solution. Fixation is the inability to break out of a particular mindset. We call this factor that can help or hinder problem solving a set, the tendency to perceive and to approach problems in certain ways. Sets enable us to draw on past experience to solve a present problem, but a strong set can also interfere with ability to use new and different approaches to solving a problem. One set that can seriously hamper problem solving is functional fixedness, the tendency to perceive only a limited number of uses for an object. How many of you have used a credit card to scrape off your windshield?

 

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