Suppose that you learned to make peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches by spreading peanut butter on one piece of bread, jelly on the other, and then placing the two pieces together. You are now making sandwiches for a crowd, and you use this same strategy. However, it would be more efficient to first spread peanut butter on half the pieces, and then spread jelly on the other half. Your inefficient problem solving illustrates the concept called

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The concept of mental set refers to the tendency to approach problems in a particular way, often a way that has been successful in the past, even if there are more efficient methods available. In this scenario, sticking to the learned method of making peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches one at a time, instead of adapting to a more efficient bulk method, illustrates the influence of a mental set on problem-solving.

Suppose That You Learned to Make Peanut-Butter-And-Jelly Sandwiches by Spreading