EXPERTISE AS MENTAL SET - THE EFFECTS OF DOMAIN KNOWLEDGE IN CREATIVEPROBLEM-SOLVING

Experts generally solve problems in their fields more effectively than novices because their well-structured, easily activated knowledge all ows for efficient search of a solution space. But what happens when a problem requires a broad search for a solution? One concern is that su bjects with a large amount of domain knowledge may actually be at a di sadvantage, because their knowledge may confine them to an area of the search space in which the solution does not reside. In other words, d omain knowledge may act as a mental set, promoting fixation in creativ e problem-solving attempts. A series of three experiments in which an adapted version of Mednick's (1962) remote associates task was used de monstrates conditions under which domain knowledge may inhibit creativ e problem solving.