Exam Special: Are you suffering from Einstellung Effect?

Imagine that you aspire to be an expert chess player, but more you focus on the chess board, trying to look for a different solution which can put your opponent in a tight spot, your eyes and mind will pull you back to the initial thought or solution you had in your mind. The more you strain your brain for different solutions, more adamantly it brings your focus to the initial solution you come up with. This mental block can be very frustrating. Isn’t it?   

Do you know what this phenomenon is called?

It’s the Einstellung Effect (Pronounced as EYE-nshtalleng, German word for attitude or mindset).  This effect refers to getting stuck in solving a problem or understanding a concept because of an initial thought, idea or solution already formed in your mind. The Einstellung Effect can be a major stumbling block for students because an initial thought, idea or solution can prevent them from looking for better idea or solution, especially while working on math or science assignments or test problems.

Since childhood, we are told that focused attention is vital for understanding any new subjects/concepts or in problem-solving, but the same focused attention can also create problems by blocking our ability to see new or better solutions or making it difficult for us to be creative.

Are there ways to overcome the Einstellung Effect?

Yes, there are quite a few approaches to overcome the Einstellung Effect. As per Barbara Oakley, PhD -Professor of Engineering at Oakland University and Author of A Mind for Numbers, a New York Times best-selling science book, one of the most prominent technique is ‘Hard-Start-Jump-To- Easy’ approach. As per this technique, you should always start with the toughest problem, in case you find it very tough to solve, pull yourself away within first two minutes and switch your attention to an easy problem and focus on it as much as you can. Once content with the easy to solve problems, move to the next tough problem and try to solve it. This time too, though you may not be able to get to the end of it, you will have at least little progress on each of the problems, making clear to you of the step involved in cracking the problem and relieve you from the dreaded feeling of unable to move further.

This technique also provides great relief to all those students, who have the habit of keeping tough problems at the end to work on during the test/exam. Usually, as students are running out of time, they increasingly get stressed making them incapable of even concentrating on the problem. The end result? ” Paralysis by Analysis“. The Hard-Start-Jump -To- Easy’ technique helps them to prevent this.

Few of the students who used this technique, on being interviewed post the test/exams opined that this technique helped them to feel at ease during the exam and also made them confident of tackling complex problems in the future test/exams.

The only challenge in this technique is that you should have the willpower to divert your attention once you find yourself stuck in a problem for a minute or two. For some, this might be a very easy task, while for others, this will require conscious effort. As per Barbara Oakley, those who suffer from Einstellung Effect, this technique is worth the effort.

– Prakash Prabhu
[ Mr.Prakash Prabhu works for The Manipal Group as a Senior HR Manager with over 15 years of corporate experience. He has been the lead writer and contributor to CHIRP magazine.(An intra-Manipal group monthly employee magazine) An avid reader who devours one book after another, Mr.Prabhu is also a certified handwriting analyst.]