Observation: A Vehicle for Generating Information between Partners in Problem Solving

Abstract

The individual employs two basic sources for perception: direct experience and the interpretations of the culture. Natural processes can lead individuals who seek to resolve problems together to excessive reliance on socialized perceptions while overlooking valuable direct experience. As the partners establish assumptions, they may prematurely cease the search for information which could lead to a new perspective on the problem. A cycle is mobilized in which information generated by direct encounter fails to check powerful assumptions. The authors offer an observational model through which partners share both their experiences and their interpretations of these experiences. The model is designed to reduce the power of assumptions and to restore the influence of direct experience in problem resolution.