The Downstream Consequences of Problem-Solving Mindsets: How Playing with LEGO Influences Creativity

Abstract

Business leaders, governments, and scholars are increasingly recognizing the importance of creativity. Recent trends in technology and education, however, suggest that many people are facing fewer opportunities to engage in creative thought as they increasingly solve well-defined (vs. ill-defined) problems. Using three studies that involve real problem-solving activities (e.g., putting together a LEGO kit), the authors examine the mindset created by addressing such well-defined problems. The studies demonstrate the negative downstream impact of such a mindset on both creative task performance and tendency to choose to engage in creative tasks. The research has theoretical implications for the creativity and mindset literature streams as well as substantive insights for managers and public policy makers.

The Fresh Start Mindset: Transforming Consumers’ Lives

“…In academic discourse, the term "mindset" has multiple conceptualizations, with scholars debating about whether there are multiple mindsets, how they operate, and how they differ from goals and attitudes (Chiu, Hong, and Dweck 1997;Freitas et al 2004;Murphy and Dweck 2016;Rucker and Galinsky 2016). Our conceptualization of the fresh start mindset is consistent with research that demonstrates metaphors, priming, and framing circumstances can recruit different mindsets-for example, shifting our thinking from abstract and long-term to the here and now; thinking of education as a journey instead of a competition; or reframing our approach to stress, creative tasks, and school performance (Crum, Salovey, and Achor 2013;Gollwitzer 1990;Landau et al 2014;Moreau and Engeset 2016;White, MacDonnell, and Dahl 2011;Yeager et al 2016). Specifically, we argue that the fresh start mindset is a complex belief/knowledge structure that when activated and accessible has consequences for preferences, goals, choices, and behaviors (Freitas et al 2004).…”

“…Research highlights how various mindsets influence consumer motivations, decision processes, activities, and behaviors (MacDonnell and White 2015; Moreau and Engeset 2016), and emphasizes that understanding mindsets is vital to questions that guide consumer behavior (John and Park 2016;Murphy and Dweck 2016;Priester and Petty 2016;Rucker and Galinsky 2016;White et al 2011). Our intent is not to examine the veracity of the fresh start mindset as a description of reality (Frank 2016;Zheng, van Osselaer, and Alba 2016), but to examine how variations in the mindset's strength shape consumers' beliefs, expectations, and actions about transformation in their own and others' lives.…”

Experimenting in the Unknown: Lessons from The Manhattan Project

“…The initial problem may be interpreted in different ways, and the set of operators to progress towards solutions are uncertain. Scholars often claim that ill‐defined situations reflect the nature of experimentation in innovation and business contexts (Simon, ; Buchanan, ; Dorst, ; Moreau and Engeset, ). In these situations, experimentation often takes the form of an ‘adaptive’ search, where solutions are obtained through trial‐and‐error learning.…”

Designing Innovation Courses In Higher Education Using LEGO® SERIOUS PLAY®

“…All three lecturers are experienced trainers and facilitators who work and teach in the field of creativity and innovation; two of them are certified LSP facilitators. They recognized the value of providing students with experiential learning settings in the frame of innovation pedagogy that focuses on illdefined problems and real-world challenges (Moreau and Engeset, 2015). Table 2 depicts the schedule of the course, which was carried out twice with 19 students each time.…”