Problem Solving and Mental Set…or Setback?

Throughout our lives we will be forced to make decisions. Some of these decisions will require the ability to solve problems in order to get to that decision. In general, we’ve looked at mental set as it relates to smaller issues but what happens with mental set is applied to bigger issues? What happens if mental set, due to reliance, is used too much? Could it be a seen as a setback?

Let’s remind ourselves what mental set is. Mental set is our tendency to use strategies that we’ve used before to solve to solve problems. (Psych256). Mental Set is not a bad thing when faced with simple tasks such as changing a light bulb. When the light no-longer works, the first thing you think of is to change the bulb not re-wire the house because in the past when you changed the bulb it worked. But what happens when mental set is over used for problems that require “out of the box thinking” or for negative behavior?

Jessie is a twenty-five year old man that has admittedly had trouble making good decisions. I’ve known and have dealt with Jessie since he was fourteen years old. I met Jessie when I had to escort him out of a local middle school due to his behavior. Eventually Jessie would leave school and began to commit crimes. By the time Jessie turned twenty he had already been to jail three times.

I asked Jessie, jokingly, why he kept committing crimes because he just wasn’t good at it. Jessie replied that when he was younger he got away with a theft of a gaming console from a local retail center. Jessie told me he needed the system because his friend said he would buy it from him for $200.00. Jessie said he needed the money to buy things. Jessie told me that not only did he gain confidence that he could continue to steal but he thought he had a “full proof plan” for getting money by stealing items and selling them.

Jessie got caught three times in one week trying to steal things from surrounding stores using the same tactics that he did when he got away with stealing the first time. Is this a form of mental set? Is Jessie’s tendency to use the same strategies that he’s used before holding him back? The answer is yes! The problem he is trying to solve is his need for money. The first time he stole he got away with it and made $200.00. His mental set about getting money has been created.

Now let’s be clear, in the context in which I’m writing this I am not suggesting that Jessie should change his mental set to commit crimes in a more efficient way…that would be counter-productive and make my job harder. I am suggesting that If Jessie’s was not stuck in his current mental set  as it relates to his problem solving he would be able to make better decision when it was time to problem a solve. Instead of thinking committing crimes is the only way for him to get money, if he wasn’t behind hindered by his mental set he’d be able to think broader, perhaps getting a job, asking for money, get a loan etc.

So how do we make sure we’re not being hindered by our mental set when solving problems?  Jeffrey Nevid, author of Essentials of Psychology: Concepts and Applications suggests thinking through the problem prior to trying figure it out. Ask yourself: what am I required to do, what type of problem is this and what type of problem solving would be best for this situation (Nevid).  Great problem solvers think of many solutions prior to solving the actual problem and brainstorm to get to those solutions. (Nevid)

In Jessie’s case, taking his problem space into consideration, I think a means-end analysis would be best for him when problem solving.  A means-end analysis involves comparing the goal with the starting point and finding ways to overcome the distance and choosing the best path (Psych256). As longs as he’s cognizant of both positive and negative consequences for that analysis when he makes a decision based on his problem solving

So, to revisit the question early in the text, can our mental set be a setback? To me the answer is only if we allow it to be.

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