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Einstellung effect

Einstellung effect noun: a problem-solving mindset displayed where a simpler solution for solving a particular problem type is not noticed due to thinking being fixed into a particular logic pattern by earlier repetitions of similar solutions.

Noun

Einstellung effect (plural Einstellung effects)

  1. A problem-solving mindset displayed where a simpler solution for solving a particular problem type is not noticed due to thinking being fixed into a particular logic pattern by earlier repetitions of similar solutions.
    • In psychology, the concept of the Einstellung effect is commonly associated with problem solving as the description of one's tendency (mindset) to use a previously learned workable strategy in situations that either can be resolved more efficiently through a different approach or to which the...2026, Jinfa Cai, Roza Leikin, editors, Research in Mathematical Problem Posing: New Advances and Directions, Springer Nature, →ISBN, page 274

Forms of Einstellung effect

pluralEinstellung effects

Origin of Einstellung effect

Coined by Abraham S. Luchins and Edith Hirsch Luchins in 1942 after publishing a study of their water-jar experiment. Einstellung (“mindset”) is a German borrowing, hence the capitalisation.

Questions about Einstellung effect

What does Einstellung effect mean?
Einstellung effect means a problem-solving mindset displayed where a simpler solution for solving a particular problem type is not noticed due to thinking being fixed into a particular logic pattern by earlier repetitions of similar solutions.
What part of speech is Einstellung effect?
Einstellung effect is a noun.
What is the plural of Einstellung effect?
The plural of Einstellung effect is Einstellung effects.

Words near Einstellung effect in the dictionary

  1. einsteinium
  2. einsteins
  3. Einsteiny
  4. Einstein–de Haas effect
  5. Einstellung
  6. Einstellung effect
  7. Einstellung effects
  8. EIP
  9. EIPH
  10. eir
  11. Eire

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Einstellung effect (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Einstellung effect.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/einstellung_effect. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.