Awarded Best Poster Presentation at Georgia College Psychology Conference (2017)
Summary
The goal of this experiment was to examine the relationships between an individuals’ ambiguity tolerance (AT) and their experiences while solving well-structured and ill-structured problems using tangram puzzles.
Using a quasi-experimental research design, participants were asked to complete two problem solving tangram tasks (one well-structured and one ill-structured). Participants then reported their perceived levels of stress and enjoyment upon completing each task. Subsequent questionnaires measured their ambiguity tolerance and overall problem-solving confidence.
After analysis, we found statistical significance providing that individuals with high AT had less anxiety in ill-structured tasks compared to those with low AT. In addition, those with high AT displayed higher overall problem solving confidence levels.
Results of this study suggest that having a higher tolerance for ambiguous situations can lead to positive outcomes when problem solving. These results can help inform policy in fields that rely on navigating uncertainty such as law enforcement or management.