Hackiness

This project aims to identify meaningful predictors of, what we are calling, “hacky” problem-solving behavior. We construe hacky problem-solving behavior as a two-facet construct that relates to the extent to which one invests cognitive resources in order to avoid tedious/brute-force problem-solving strategies in favor of clever/finessed problem-solving strategies. The first facet of the construct is intolerance of tedium, and refers to the threshold of tedium at which one chooses to seek a hacky solution to a problem. The second facet of the construct is tenacity, and refers to the amount of time and effort one will expend in order to find a hacky solution before one “gives up” and defers to a brute-force solution.