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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons™
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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
The Role Of Information Search In Creative Problem Solving, Mackenzie Harms, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Douglas C. Derrick
The Role Of Information Search In Creative Problem Solving, Mackenzie Harms, Roni Reiter-Palmon, Douglas C. Derrick
Psychology Faculty Publications
This study investigates the role that information search behavior plays in the process of creative problem solving. Although models of creative processing posit that information search is a necessary stage of creative problem solving, no research has separated and measured information search from earlier processes to determine the nature of the role it plays in the creative problem solving process. Two hundred twenty-one people participated in a study where active engagement in problem construction was manipulated. Participants were allowed to search for additional information that may facilitate the generation of a creative solution. Measures of information search that have been …
Using A Fork As A Hairbrush: Investigating Dual Routes To Release From Functional Fixedness, Dawn R. Weatherford, Lemira V. Esparza, Laura J. Tedder, Olivia K. H. Smith
Using A Fork As A Hairbrush: Investigating Dual Routes To Release From Functional Fixedness, Dawn R. Weatherford, Lemira V. Esparza, Laura J. Tedder, Olivia K. H. Smith
Psychology Faculty Publications
Functional fixedness involves difficulty with conceptualizing creative object uses. When it obstructs problem solving, individuals must reframe their approach. We examined how different training techniques – chunk decomposition (i.e., considering an object’s basic parts and physical properties) and constraint relaxation (i.e., considering an object’s different functions) – might rely upon different routes to creative reframing. Additionally, we investigated how different forms of cognitive load interact with these dual routes. Participants learned one of three techniques. Chunk decomposition participants created object breakdown diagrams; constraint relaxation participants created object functions lists; and, free association (control) participants wrote a word that they associated …