Teaching Personal Problem Solving to Adults

Abstract

Solving personal problems is a basic life skill. The goal is to achieve problem-solving competence in applying a variety of models, three of which are trial and error/reinforcement, linear/rational, and intuitive/creative. The focus in this article is on the intuitive creative model that deals with novel problematic situations. Conditions of readiness for solving problems with any model are accurate problem awareness and appraisal of the problem, an attitude of meeting a challenge, self-efficacy or confidence in one’s ability to solve problems, and an appropriate problem-solving set. While much research has been devoted to studying children and college youth in laboratory situations doing essentially thinking types of tasks, little research has been done with middle-aged and older adults. More research is needed on how adults learn problem-solving skills, and how they might develop greater problem-solving competence.