Einstellung effect

Einstellung (German pronunciation: [ˈaɪ̯nˌʃtɛlʊŋ] ; German: Einstellungseffekt) is the development of a mechanized state of mind. Often called a problem solving set, Einstellung refers to a person's predisposition to solve a given problem in a specific manner even though better or more appropriate methods of solving the problem exist. The Einstellung effect is the negative effect of previous experience when solving new problems. The Einstellung effect has been tested experimentally in many different contexts. The example which led to the coining of the term by Abraham S. Luchins and Edith Hirsch Luchins is the Luchins water jar experiment, in which subjects were asked to solve a series of water jar problems. After solving many problems which had the same solution, subjects applied the same solution to later problems even though a simpler solution existed (Luchins, 1942). Other experiments on the Einstellung effect can be found in The Effect of Einstellung on Compositional Processes and Rigidity of Behavior, A Variational Approach to the Effect of Einstellung.