Stress, Creativity and Problem solving : A qualitative study in how we solve problems under stress, and what this could mean for the design process

Problem solving is a big part of design, however a lot of emphasis is put on creativity in research related to the effects of stress. Research has shown that the amount of stress we feel affects idea generation. Stress may also affect the ability to solve problems, however the researchers don’t seem to agree about what the effect of stress actually does. The study was made through experimental sessions where the respondents were asked to solve 4 matchstick puzzles of similar difficulty. Depending on their outcome they experienced more or less stress. They all experienced greater amounts of stress in the puzzles that took them longer times to figure out. Along with the experimental sessions, I also interviewed the respondents about their personal relationship with problem solving in their daily and professional life. I found that problem solving is intertwined and compounded with creativity through both problem solving being a part of the creative process, and problem solving needing the creative elements to generate ideas for solutions. But more than anything the study showed that problem solving in fact could be a stress trigger.