User:Julisong/sandbox

Project Summary: by Julie Brown and Will Fraker

The article that we have chosen to create was “Common barriers to problem solving.” We will write this article in a way that relates the common barriers most people have in problem solving. We will include why people have trouble problem solving, factors related to solving particular problems and how researchers have dealt with the issue of common problem solving. After describing what exactly problem solving means and in what context it is typically used, we will discuss basic barriers to effective problem solving. There are several barriers ranging in complexity with regards to various degrees of strata. For instance, ethnicity as it relates to culture plays a role in how a problem is thought through and approached (Wolf, Katrin M, 2010). A person’s culture can influence how a problem is thought about. According to Jeppesen and Lakhani in their 2010 article, the ability to problem solve is greatly affected simply by the level of expertise an individual has in the particular field of the problem in question. Though this seems simple, it is indeed a barrier to reasoning, and it will be briefly discussed in this article. The barriers discussed in this article will be cover a wide range of topics and be discussed, including but not limited to ethnicity, education, preconceived assumptions, socio-economic status and others. Even simple factors, such as the age of the participant, comes into play, as found by Vlamings et al (2010). It is important for this article to be in depth and informative as problem solving is a daily task for all people. Barriers to problem solving include all types of problems relating to what we would think as more complex such as scientific discovery, to things a bit more simple like making dinner (Kozulin, Alex, 2010). A good portion of this article will also discuss all facets of solving a problem, such as identifying the problem, th e cause, and so forth. After the aspects and roots of the barriers are discussed, a short time will be given to the discussion of solutions or progressions made to overcoming these barriers. Some of these ideas will stem from individual solutions, such as step by step processing (Kozulin, Alex, 2010), to group problem solving (Hansen, Miriam 2010), or even utilizing different focuses and mindsets (Walinga, 2010). These peer-reviewed articles will be listed so that individuals wanting more information can easily access the articles. However the particular article we are writing is mainly focused on the barriers to problem solving not necessarily the solutions to them. The article will focus its attention of the different aspects of cognitive barriers that limit or slow our ability to correctly and quickly solve problems.

Jeppesen, Lars Bo, & Lakhani, Karim R. (2010). Marginality and problem-solving effectiveness in broadcast search. Organization Science, 21, 1016-1033. doi: 10.1287/orsc.1090-0491

Pottier et al. (2010). Exploring how students think: A new method combining think-aloud and concept mapping protocols. Medical Education, 44, 926-935. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2923.2010.03748.x

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

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

Waling, Jennifer, Cunningham, J. Barton, & MacGregor, James N. (2011). Training insight problem solving through focus on barriers and assumptions. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 45, 47-58. doi: 10.1002/j.2162-6057.2011.tb01084.x