Throughout our entire lives we are expected and required to solve problems. Everyday we encounter dilemmas that need to be solved, from deciding what we should have for dinner to complicated mathematical formulae that have baffled even the brightest mathematicians for centuries. Often times, in order to solve these more difficult problems we have to do what as known as think-outside-the-box, meaning to ignore traditional strategies that in this case have been unsuccessful and consider the problem in ways that have never been considered. However, it has been shown time and time again that this is far more difficult than it would seem, and many highly intelligent people have failed to break out this restrictive way of thinking. This phenomena is known as fixation, and it’s presence can be (and likely has been) experienced by all of us at one time or another.
Fixation is a process in which people focus on a particular characteristic of a problem that prevents them arriving at a satisfactory conclusion. One of the most notable forms of this sort of fixation is functional fixation, in which the individual become so fixated on an item’s intended use or the manner it was used in the past that they cannot consider using it in any other way (Goldstein 2012, pg 329). This is not the only way that fixation can effect us. Fixation can also occur when we fail to consider certain actions simply because they were never a possibility before. A good example of this is certain video games I have played in the past. The best example I have for this from my experience with various video games. In most video the player is often presented certain obstacles that must be overcome. These obstacles often have only one solution to overcome them. For example, in the Pokemon series of games the player will often encounter small trees blocking their paths that can only be removed with the move cut. No alternative is ever presented to remove the trees. You can not use the move slash, which would imply a similar action, nor can you burn them down with a fire based move or even climb over them. This kind of scenario is common in many games and has caused me some difficulty with more open games that allow for solving problems in various ways. For example, in another game I had played I was surprised when a friend told me that I didn’t have to fire on a group of unarmed soldiers that were attacking me, but instead could disperse them by firing into the air. In most games, enemy combatants will always attack the player and will not retreat or surrender for any reason, continuing to fight no matter how outmatched until the player kills them. Because the option had never been presented to me in a virtual setting before, a possibility I would have likely considered in real life never even crossed my mind in this context.

Goldstein, B. E. (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind Research and Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

It is a common belief that memory retrieval is a simple process. Information is stored in working memory, transferred to long term memory, and can then be retrieved as needed. However, the reality of memory retrieval is more complex than this simple, certain path. Just because a memory has been fully encoded is no guarantee that it can be retrieved and applied at will. There are many factors that affect the retrieval process that can make us either more or less likely to remember information when we need it.
One process that can improve the likelihood of remembering previously learned knowledge are retrieval cues. Retrieval cues are any stimulus or words that help us remember stored memories (Goldstein, 2011). These cues can be just about any sort of stimulus, from familiar sounds, to sights, to smells. These cues can be surprisingly powerful and can help us remember events we may not have thought of for years, such as returning to a childhood home and recalling many events from time spent there. To demonstrate the effectiveness of retrieval cues, a study conducted by Tulving and Pearlstone in 1996 (Goldstein, 2011) compared free recall (where a participant is simply asked to remember a set of words) and cued recall (where they are provided retrieval cues before being asked to recall a set of words.) The results showed the free recall group could only remember 40% of the words, whereas the cued recall group remembered 75% of the words.
It’s probably not particularly surprising that memory can be improved with clever reminders. However, the conditions in which a memory was encoded also can have a profound impact on when that memory is recalled. When a memory is encoded it is more likely to be recalled in conditions that are similar to the ones in which it was initially learned. This is known as matching conditions. While there are likely many more principles phenomena can be applied to, there are three that are the most well known and studied. First is encoding specificity, which applies to the external environment at the time a memory was encoded, such as smells, sounds, physical characteristics of a room. Second is state-dependent learning, which applies to the individuals internal state or mood at the time, such as their mood or state of awareness. Last is transfer-appropriate processing, which applies to the type of task that was conducted during encoding, such as the sort of reasoning that was being applied. When these traits match up to the ones we were under when we encoded the memory, we are much more likely to remember it later.
This can have significant repercussions in our lives in any situation where it is important to remember large amounts of information (most obviously any study session should consider these facts. When studying, trying to learn the information that is being tested isn’t the only thing that should be considered, but also what characteristics the study environment will have. Consider turning off any music or other distractions, not just because they can be distracting, but also because it is unlikely the test environment will be silent as well. Tailoring your environment to one that matches the desired one could take some effort, but it can make a large difference in recalling needed information.

Goldstein, B. E. (2011). Cognitive Psychology: Connecting Mind Research and Everyday Experience (3rd ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

It is common knowledge that we all have the ability to perceive our environment using our senses.  Information from the environment is taken in by our various sensory organs and interpreted by our brain to give us an image of the conditions in which we exist.  This is known  as bottom-up processing.  However it is a less known fact that our brain does not objectively analyze the information it receives and present it solely as that data was provided.  Rather our brain interprets that data in certain ways, based on our experiences and preconceived beliefs, causing us to view the world in certain ways that allow for easier understanding of our world but not in ways that are always accurate.  This is known as top-down processing, and this manner of our mind affecting our environment is the basis of many interesting phenomena and illusions.

In the environment top-down processing can be seen in many aspects of our lives.  The most basic examples can be seen in many books devoted to optical illusions.  Just about any sort of artwork relies on this to convey a portrait, particularly those of a more abstract sort.  Top-down processing occurs in many scenarios in everyday life as well.  For example, while we may not think about it, when we view certain objects that we cannot see the whole of, while we may not actually see them, we have already formed a belief of what the unviewed parts look like.  If we cannot see the second half of a tree branch behind a tree, we usually have an idea of what it looks  like based on our previous experiences with such objects.  This can be used to hide certain less desireable items, and is the basis behind certain actions such as turning the stained side of the pillow face down, or making the best fruit in the grocery store the most readily viewed.