KidsVUe • Issue One

CREATIVITY AND
PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW
TO SURVIVE ON A
DESERTED ISLAND
Nicole Nguyen1, Jacqueline Oh1, Jesse Oler1
1Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

Published on: Feb 21, 2021

License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC-BY 4.0)
KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

Nicole Nguyen, Jacqueline Oh, & Jesse Oler

Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA

ABSTRACT

You are stranded alone on a deserted island. How will you survive the many challenges that this
situation presents? In this paper, we will discuss common mental obstacles like mental set and
functional fixedness that can prevent effective problem solving. To help you overcome these
challenges, we will first discuss the important role creativity plays when it comes to solving problems.
Then, using cognitive psychology concepts such as preinventive forms, solitude, and insight, we will
help you think outside the box to survive, find food, and build shelter on the island.

INTRODUCTION

“Get up, we have to keep moving!” You suddenly awaken to your brother Alex dragging you onto the
beach. You find yourself on a deserted island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Fighting through the
pain in your forehead, you remember that your boat crashed into a coral reef and your guide, Captain
Maxcey, is nowhere to be found. How are you going to survive and escape from the island with only the
items found on the boat and the beach? By using problem solving techniques that involve your human
creativity and insight as well as by overcoming the problems of functional fixedness and mental set,
this paper will give you a guide to island survival so you can make it back home safely!

SURVIVING WITH CRESTIVITY: PREINVENTIVE FORMS AND SOLITUDE

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

To survive on the island, you need to look for materials that may be useful for building shelter or
catching food. For example, you might find palm leaves, twigs, and shells on the shore. What can you
do with these objects? This is where your creativity comes into play! Creativity involves using your
imagination to turn random materials into objects that can be used. This type of creativity involves
making preinventive forms, which are the initial inventions that can be used and developed into
different final products (Finke, 1990). For example, you could tie a twig and a shell together with a
palm leaf to create a sharp stick – the preinventive form -- which can then be used as a fishing spear or
coat hanger. To test people’s ability to create preinventive forms, a psychologist ran an experiment as
outlined in Figure 1. First, he gave participants three random objects (e.g., a block, wire, wheel, etc.)
and asked them to create any practical device using the three materials. To further test people’s
creativity, he also asked the participants to explain how their invention could be used when given any
random category (e.g., furniture, transportation, tools, etc.). For example, if given the category of
tools, the participant could explain how their preinventive form may be used as a fishing spear. The
psychologist found that most of the subjects could successfully make and explain at least one creative

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

invention. This experiment shows that people can use their creativity to make preinventive forms to
solve different problems. Like the participants in this study, using your creativity to turn random
objects found on the island into useful tools will help you adapt to the island and survive!

You may find that your most creative ideas come to you when you are by yourself. Studies have shown
that solitude, a state of being alone, may actually improve creative thinking because there are less
distractions, giving you time and space to imagine. To test this, one study compared the level of
imagination between a control group with no isolation and two test groups that were isolated in
Antarctica for different lengths of time (Barabasz, 1984). Results showed that compared to the control
group, both test groups had significant increases in imagination after isolation. Therefore, isolation on
a deserted island may actually allow you to use your imagination more because you can become
absorbed in your thoughts. Your creative imagination will then spark the ideas to help you survive and
escape from the island!

FISHING FOR FOOD: OVERCOMING MENTAL SET AND GAINING INSIGHT

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

Finding food is one problem you must solve quickly. However, your mental set, the existing idea you
have about how to solve a problem, can make it challenging to find a quick and easy solution. To test
the effect of mental set on problem solving, a psychologist investigated how the repeated use of a
solution affects the way people solve problems (Luchins, 1942). Participants had to figure out how to
get a desired volume of water when given three empty water jugs of different sizes. The psychologist
split the participants into two groups: the mental set group and the control group. He explained one
solution to the mental set group but did not give any hints to the control group. The study showed that
while the majority of the mental set group became fixed on the solution provided by the researcher,
the control group thought of simpler methods on their own. This study shows that the habit of using
one method can prevent you from solving a problem more simply. For example, the existing idea that
fish are caught by a fishing rod could cause you to overlook a simpler method. As shown in Figure 2,
one easy solution could be making a fish trap by placing sticks into the sand near the water in an “M”
shape with a small opening in the middle to allow fish to enter. By opening up to the possibility of
multiple solutions, rather than focusing on the commonly used method, you can think of more
effective ideas.

There are times when you might suddenly realize easier solutions to complex problems. This concept
is known as insight, which is when you realize an answer that was not initially obvious while problem
solving. Insight occurs when you mentally reorganize a problem, leading to an ‘aha’ moment. To
investigate insight, researchers gave subjects both non-insight (e.g., “What is (2x+y)(3x-y)?”) and
insight problems (e.g., “What three balls can you move to get the triangle to point down instead of
up?”; Metcalfe & Wiebe, 1987). Non-insight problems like algebra problems have formulas leading to a
single answer, whereas insight problems can be solved in a variety of creative ways. While completing
these questions, every 15 seconds participants rated how close (hot) or not close (cold) they felt they
were to solving the problem. The study found that non-insight problems showed gradual feelings of
closeness towards reaching the answer, whereas insight problems were solved suddenly. This study
shows that when faced with a challenge like looking for food, insight may provide you with a sudden
creative solution.

DESINGING SHELTER: CONQUERING FUNCTIONAL FIXEDNESS

To survive the cold night, you will also need to build a shelter. However, all you see are scraps from the
boat wreckage and plants. How can you build a shelter with items that are not meant to be used for
building? This question highlights a specific type of mental set called functional fixedness, which is the
inability to think about using an object in a different way than traditionally used. When tasked with
building structures, people often encounter design fixation, a specific type of functional fixedness that
describes the struggle to consider non-traditional methods to design structures. Psychologists tested
the effect of design fixation by giving students materials to complete a design challenge (e.g.,

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

designing a spill-proof coffee cup) in as many different ways as possible (Jansson & Smith, 1991). Half
of the students received an image of a sample design solution, while the other half received no help.
The researchers found that while both groups made the same number of designs, the group with the
image struggled to overcome design fixation. Their focus on the sample design prevented them from
creating new structures that were different from the sample. As you begin designing your shelter, try
not to think about the original function of the sail or the ropes from the boat. Instead, imagine them as
materials to build a roof to keep the rain off your head!

Once you are aware of the challenge that functional fixedness creates, you need to find ways to
overcome this mental set. Scientists examined whether touching materials might allow people to
overcome functional fixedness when solving problems (Glucksberg, 1964). In their study, students
needed to attach a candle to a wall using items given to them in a box while blindfolded. Most of the
students realized they could use the box itself as part of their solution and reported that they came to
this conclusion upon touching t

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he box. As shown in Figure 3, this experiment highlights the important role touch and sensation play
in overcoming functional fixedness. If you find yourself unsure of which building materials to use, try
touching them. You might find that the rigid surface of palm leaves is perfect for keeping rain out or
that a circular life raft from the boat is the perfect size for a window.

CONCLUSION

While survival presents a number of obstacles, this guide should prepare you to solve challenging
problems. When you need to find a creative solution, designing preinventive forms and finding
solitude can help. As you begin your hunt for food, start by separating yourself from your mental set;
you might just find a simpler solution through insight. While building a shelter, you can overcome
functional fixedness by touching objects and thinking of creative ways to use them in your design. If
you can do all these things, you just might survive -- wait, there’s a flare in the distance! It’s a
helicopter coming to rescue you and Alex! Well, maybe this will help the next time you two find
yourselves stranded on an island!

REFERENCES
Barabasz, A. (1984). Antarctic Isolation and Imaginative Involvement-Preliminary Findings: A
Brief Communication. International Journal Of Clinical And Experimental Hypnosis, 32(3), 296-300.

Finke, R. (1993). Chapter 9 Mental Imagery and Creative Discovery. In B. Roskos-Ewoldsen, M.

Intons-Peterson & R. Anderson, Imagery, creativity, and discovery, 255-285. Amsterdam: North-
Holland.

Glucksberg, S. (1964). Functional fixedness: problem solution as a function of observing

responses. Psychonomic Science, 1(1-12), 117-118.

Jansson, D., & Smith, S. (1991). Design fixation. Design Studies, 12(1), 3-11.

Luchins, A. (1942). Mechanization in problem solving: The effect of Einstellung. Psychological

Monographs, 54(6), i-95.

Metcalfe, J., & Wiebe, D. (1987). Intuition in insight and noninsight problem solving. Memory &
Cognition, 15(3), 238-246.

AUTHOR BIBLIOGRAPHY

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

Nicole T. Nguyen I am a student at Vanderbilt University working towards a Neuroscience major

while in the Pre-Medicine track. Some of my favorite topics of study include memory, learning, and

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

neurodegenerative diseases. In the future, I hope to further our understanding and treatment of
neurodegenerative diseases in addition to becoming a doctor. Outside of academics I love photography,
traveling, painting, and spending time with friends and family.

Jacqueline Oh I’m a senior from Edmond, Oklahoma majoring in Medicine, Health, and Society and
minoring in Art History while on the Pre-Medicine track at Vanderbilt University. With the passion to
serve and a particular interest in global health and health disparities, I hope to become a physician in
the future. In my downtime, I also enjoy traveling with friends and family, playing board games,
doodling, and cooking/baking to de-stress.

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KidsVUe • Issue One CREATIVITY AND PROBLEM SOLVING: HOW TO SURVIVE ON A DESERTED ISLAND

Jesse Oler Jesse is a senior at Vanderbilt University from Chicago, Illinois majoring in Neuroscience
and minoring in Philosophy. He aspires to attend medical school one day and become a research

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psychiatrist or neurologist specializing with a focus on neurodevelopmental disorders and

psychopathology. Outside of the classroom, he is a research assistant at Blackford Lab, where he
studies schizophrenia and pediatric anxiety. In his free time, he enjoys playing volleyball for
Vanderbilt’s men’s club team, working on service projects, and editing his comedy screenplay.

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