Top-down processing could assist Casey in his ability to exit the maze if he was looking at the maze from a location above. Top-down processing would involve Casey looking at the maze as one whole functional unit, and then reviewing the detailed paths to find a correct solution to exit the maze. However, since Casey is unable to view the maze from anywhere other than the middle of the maze, Casey would not be able to use the top-down processing way of problem-solving. Functional fixedness could interfere with Casey’s ability to find a solution to exit the maze because he has viewed the objects in his possession as only functioning one way. The gum that Casey has in his possession could be used as a tool to mark the areas he already covered in the maze, however, Casey is unable to see a use for the gum and therefore continues to remain lost and unaware of the places he has already walked through. Confirmation bias can impede Casey’s ability to find a way out of the maze because his belief that solely making right turns is the solution to exiting the maze is incorrect and biased by the preconception. In other instances when Casey was locating a way out of a different maze, going right always led the way to an exit, however in this particular maze, going right often times led to dead …show more content…
An example of Casey using means-end analysis would be Casey becoming aware of his current situation and then determining the steps to find the maze’s exit (goal). Casey must first figure out where he is and then begin marking the locations he has already covered so he does not continue to go in circles. By eliminating dead-end paths Casey will be able to reduce the difference from the starting location to the exit. As the difference increases, Casey will have a better chance at reaching the end