The Einstellung Effect

Insight

Our minds like shortcuts, even when we’re facing complex challenges.

The Einstellung Effect—first documented by psychologist Abraham Luchins in 1942—describes our tendency to default to familiar solutions even when better alternatives exist.

This isn't about being stubborn, it's about how our brains process information. The neural pathways formed through repetition make familiar solutions appear faster and with less cognitive strain than creating something new.

In policy and program development, this manifests as reliance on established frameworks that may no longer serve current needs.

The good news: research-backed methods exist to reduce the impact of the Einstellung Effect and open our minds to purpose-driven problem solving.

Insight in Practice

Here are five strategies to reduce the impact of the Einstellung Effect in social policy work:

• Procure from small and medium businesses.
  Small and medium businesses are underused in public projects, yet they bring new perspectives, niche expertise, and emerging technologies that challenge conventional approaches.

• Build innovation teams.
  Form short-term innovation teams across departments. Diverse thinking beats deep expertise when solving new problems.

• Pause before deciding.
  Build in 24-hour delays after early solutions. Brief pauses reduce bias and open space for better options.

• Change the setting.
  Even simple shifts—like a new room—can disrupt fixed thinking and boost creativity. Change meeting & work settings when possible.

• Think in analogies.
  Compare your challenge to unrelated fields. Asking “How would a symphony orchestra handle this coordination challenge?” can reveal unexpected solutions.

When implemented systematically, these approaches help teams recognize and move beyond habitual thinking without requiring complex organizational changes.

Resources Worth Sharing

“Jumping to conclusions is efficient if the conclusions are likely to be correct and the costs of an occasional mistake acceptable. Jumping to conclusions is risky when the situation is unfamiliar, the stakes are high and there is no time to collect more information. (…) The most effortful forms of slow thinking are those that require you to think fast.” — Daniel Kahneman, Thinking, Fast and Slow

“Public sector organizations often fall prey to ‘the way we’ve always done it’ syndrome, limiting innovation. Introducing mechanisms to challenge entrenched routines is critical to unlocking new solutions.” — OECD, Tackling Policy Challenges Through Public Sector Innovation

“The brain’s preference for familiar patterns and solutions can trap organizations in a cycle of incremental improvements, preventing breakthrough ideas.” — Harvard Business Review, The Cognitive Bias Keeping Us from Innovating

Question to Consider

What long-standing approach in your work has become "the way we've always done it," and what simple experiments could you run to test whether better alternatives exist?

Quote of The Week

"The difficulty lies not so much in developing new ideas as in escaping from old ones."
—John Maynard Keynes

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