Using innovative methods to solve problems is a new technique developed by a US researcher.
According to Tony McCaffrey, a psychology PhD from the University of
Massachusetts, there is a classic obstruction to innovation called
'functional fixedness'.
"which is the tendency to fixate on the common use of an object or its
parts. It hinders people from solving problems," McCaffrey said. McCaffrey has developed a systematic way of overcoming that obstacle: the "generic parts technique" (GPT).
People trained in GPT solved eight problems 67 percent more often than those who weren't trained, and the first group solved them more than 8
times out of 10.
Here's how GPT works: "For each object in your problem, you break it
into parts and ask two questions," explained McCaffrey, who is now a
post-doctoral fellow in UMass's engineering department.
"1. Can it be broken down further? and 2. - this is the one that's been
overlooked-Does my description of the part imply a use?"
So you're given two steel rings and told to make a figure-8 out of them.
Your tools? A candle and a match. Melted wax is sticky, but the wax
isn't strong enough to hold the rings together.
The other part of the candle - the wick implies a use: Wicks are set afire to give light.
"That tends to hinder people's ability to think of alternative uses for this part," said McCaffrey.
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