On Problem-Solving¶
Duncker, K. (1935/1945). On Problem-Solving. Psychological Monographs, 58(5).
Cited by¶
6 citations across 6 artifacts.
Each citation links to the sentence it supports in the citing article.
Primes¶
- Category Retrieval Lock In
- In cognition, the origin substrate, functional fixedness retrieves a screwdriver as "screwdriver" rather than as a thin metal shaft with an insulating handle, and the Einstellung effect fixes a problem-solving method as a category so a novel problem needing a different decomposition is obstructed.
This sourceIntroduces functional fixedness and the candle problem, showing that an object compiled under a routine-use label (the box as tack-container) obstructs novel re-use (the box as shelf), with the empty-box presentation easing the problem.
- In cognition, the origin substrate, functional fixedness retrieves a screwdriver as "screwdriver" rather than as a thin metal shaft with an insulating handle, and the Einstellung effect fixes a problem-solving method as a category so a novel problem needing a different decomposition is obstructed.
Domain-specific¶
- Functional Fixedness
- Karl Duncker's candle problem (first published in German in 1935, and in a posthumous English translation in 1945) is the founding demonstration.
Supported in partVerified against the source
- Karl Duncker's candle problem (first published in German in 1935, and in a posthumous English translation in 1945) is the founding demonstration.
Mechanisms¶
- Assumption Reversal and Recombination
- Its strength is escaping functional fixedness — the pull that makes an existing solution feel like the only shape the problem can take.
This sourceDefines functional fixedness as an established use constraining recognition of alternative ways an object can solve a problem.
- Its strength is escaping functional fixedness — the pull that makes an existing solution feel like the only shape the problem can take.
- Constraint Suspension Charter
- Its strength is that it forces a team to say out loud which of its constraints are real and which are merely habitual — the direct antidote to functional fixedness,
This sourceDefines functional fixedness as being unable to see a familiar object beyond its customary function when a new use is needed to solve a problem.
- Its strength is that it forces a team to say out loud which of its constraints are real and which are merely habitual — the direct antidote to functional fixedness,
- Functional Decomposition Workshop
- Its strength is that it dissolves functional fixedness — the trap of seeing a resource only in its habitual role — by forcing every requirement into label-free, capability-based terms, which is exactly what makes a heterogeneous stock look richer than a parts list suggests.
This sourceCharacterizes functional fixedness as difficulty seeing an object beyond its customary function when a problem requires a novel use.
- Its strength is that it dissolves functional fixedness — the trap of seeing a resource only in its habitual role — by forcing every requirement into label-free, capability-based terms, which is exactly what makes a heterogeneous stock look richer than a parts list suggests.
- Lateral Reframing Workshop
- Its strength is escaping functional fixedness — the trap of seeing a problem (or a resource) only in its habitual role — by supplying the deliberate frame shifts a stuck group cannot generate on its own.
This sourceShows functional fixedness when an object’s prior conventional use blocks recognition of the different function required for a solution.
- Its strength is escaping functional fixedness — the trap of seeing a problem (or a resource) only in its habitual role — by supplying the deliberate frame shifts a stuck group cannot generate on its own.
Verification¶
Does it exist? Confirmed. This work's DOI resolves to a registered record, which fixes its identity. That is all it fixes.
Does it back the claim? Read against the text for 1 of 6 citations: 1 supported in part. Each verdict is shown under its citation below, with what in the work backs the sentence.
Support is checked per citation rather than per work — the same source can be cited soundly in one article and wrongly in another. Per-citation recording began recently, so a citation with no recorded check is a gap in the record rather than evidence it went unchecked.
See how references were verified.
Registry ID ref:2e1559aae40c · see in the full table