scholarly journals Insight and Search in Katona’s Five-Square Problem

2014 ◽  
Vol 61 (4) ◽  
pp. 263-272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Öllinger ◽  
Gary Jones ◽  
Günther Knoblich
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Cognitive Model ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Problem Representation ◽  
Problem Space ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Representational Change ◽  
Human Thinking

Insights are often productive outcomes of human thinking. We provide a cognitive model that explains insight problem solving by the interplay of problem space search and representational change, whereby the problem space is constrained or relaxed based on the problem representation. By introducing different experimental conditions that either constrained the initial search space or helped solvers to initiate a representational change, we investigated the interplay of problem space search and representational change in Katona’s five-square problem. Testing 168 participants, we demonstrated that independent hints relating to the initial search space and to representational change had little effect on solution rates. However, providing both hints caused a significant increase in solution rates. Our results show the interplay between problem space search and representational change in insight problem solving: The initial problem space can be so large that people fail to encounter impasse, but even when representational change is achieved the resulting problem space can still provide a major obstacle to finding the solution.

scholarly journals From “Hmmm…” to “Aha!”: Emotional Monitoring of Representational Change

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 658-681
Author(s):  
И.Ю. Владимиров ◽  
И.Н. Макаров
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Emotional Regulation ◽  
Solution Process ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Multimodal Corpora ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Representational Change ◽  
The Relationship

There are two common approaches to researching insight: the study of the emotional response to a solution (Aha! experience) and the study of the restructuring of representations. The relationship between them can be found by comparing functions they perform relative to each other. For the experimental investigation of insight, problems that are typically being used can be solved within a little amount of time and are highly similar in their structure. We believe that such laboratory designs of the tasks often lead to researchers missing out on the moments of impasse and initial restructuring of the search space. In the current study, using the method of multimodal corpora constructed from individual solutions, we gained partial confirmation of the key statements of the model of emotional regulation of the representational change. According to the model, an insight solution process is accompanied by emotions regulating the process of representational change. A feeling of impasse is a response to the lack of progress towards the solution. An Aha! experience appears in response to solvers performing actions that bring them a huge step closer to the solution of a problem. We believe that these emotional responses are experienced before the solution reaches consciousness and they motivate the solver to adapt their search space accordingly. The model we propose is a development of the ideas of Ya.A. Ponomarev on the role of emotions in regulating of insight problem solving andmodel of M. Ollinger and colleagues describing the phases of insight problem solving.

scholarly journals How Working Memory Provides Representational Change During Insight Problem Solving

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sergei Korovkin ◽  
Ilya Vladimirov ◽  
Alexandra Chistopolskaya ◽  
Anna Savinova
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Representational Change

scholarly journals Quantifying insightful problem solving: A modified compound remote associates paradigm using lexical priming to parametrically modulate different sources of task difficulty

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxi Becker ◽  
Gregor Wiedemann ◽  
Simone Kuehn
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Task Performance ◽  
Task Difficulty ◽  
Item Difficulty ◽  
Search Space ◽  
Problem Solver ◽  
Lexical Priming ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Knowledge Constraint

Insight problem solving has been conceptualized as a dynamic search through a constrained search space where a non-obvious solution needs to be found. Multiple sources of task difficulty have been defined that can keep the problem solver from finding the right solution such as an overly large search space or knowledge constraints requiring a change of the problem representation. Up to now, there are very few accounts that focus on different aspects of difficulty within an insight problem-solving context and how they affect task performance as well as the probability of finding a solution that is accompanied by an Aha! experience. In addition, we are not aware of any approaches investigating how knowledge constraints parametrically modulate task performance and the Aha! experience in compound remote associates (CRA) when controlling for other sources of task difficulty. Therefore, we first developed, tested and externally validated a modified CRA paradigm in combination with lexical priming that is more likely to elicit representational change than the classical CRA tasks. Second, we parametrically estimated the effect of the knowledge constraint together with other sources of difficulty (size of the problem and search space, word length and frequency) using General Linear Mixed Models. The knowledge constraint (and the size of the search space) was operationalized as lexical distance (measured as cosine distances) between different word pairs within this task. Our results indicate that the experimentally induced knowledge constraint still affects task performance and is negatively related to the Aha! experience when controlling for various other types of task difficulties. Finally, we will present the complete stimulus set in German language together with their statistical (i.e. item difficulty and mean solution time) and lexical properties.

scholarly journals Eye-tracking and cognitive monitoring as the methods of insight process objectification

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 167-179
Author(s):  
I.Yu. Vladimirov ◽  
A.V. Chistopolskaya
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Eye Movement ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Fixation Duration ◽  
Eye Tracker ◽  
Problem Space ◽  
Monitoring Method ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Cognitive Monitoring

Current article highlights the results of the research of specific mechanisms of insight problem solving. It is based on the analysis of eye movement record data made by eye-tracker. The recorded data included average pupil diameter [mm] and fixation duration [ms]; the distribution of averaged eye movement values within the areas of interest during the manipulations with problem space was analyzed. The eye movement data was compared to the cognitive monitoring method data. The specificity of insight problems in comparison with non-insight (algorithmized) problems was validated. Several qualitative features of insight problem solving and the organization of problem space were revealed. Additionally, the priority of visual processing during insight problem solving was discovered: fixation duration increased in the “main problem” AOI.

In Search of Somatic Precursors of Spontaneous Insight

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 97-105 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wangbing Shen ◽  
Yuan Yuan ◽  
Chaoying Tang ◽  
Chunhua Shi ◽  
Chang Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Electrodermal Activity ◽  
Cardiovascular Responses ◽  
Solution Time ◽  
Problem Solution ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Creative Insight ◽  
Insight Problem Solving ◽  
Analytic Problem

Abstract. A considerable number of behavioral and neuroscientific studies on insight problem solving have revealed behavioral and neural correlates of the dynamic insight process; however, somatic correlates, particularly somatic precursors of creative insight, remain undetermined. To characterize the somatic precursor of spontaneous insight, 22 healthy volunteers were recruited to solve the compound remote associate (CRA) task in which a problem can be solved by either an insight or an analytic strategy. The participants’ peripheral nervous activities, particularly electrodermal and cardiovascular responses, were continuously monitored and separately measured. The results revealed a greater skin conductance magnitude for insight trials than for non-insight trials in the 4-s time span prior to problem solutions and two marginally significant correlations between pre-solution heart rate variability (HRV) and the solution time of insight trials. Our findings provide the first direct evidence that spontaneous insight in problem solving is a somatically peculiar process that is distinct from the stepwise process of analytic problem solving and can be represented by a special somatic precursor, which is a stronger pre-solution electrodermal activity and a correlation between problem solution time and certain HRV indicators such as the root mean square successive difference (RMSSD).

scholarly journals Verbal insight revisited – Dissociable neurocognitive processes underlying solutions accompanied by an AHA! experience with and without prior restructuring

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maxi Becker ◽  
Simone Kühn ◽  
Tobias Sommer
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Direct Consequence ◽  
Insight Problem ◽  
Solution Processes ◽  
Insight Problem Solving

In this article, we investigate insight problem solving by exploring the subjective AHA! experience as a function of restructuring of a problem. It has long been assumed that the AHA! experience is the direct consequence of restructuring. However, is this assumption justified?We will argue that a) the AHA! experience does not always result from prior restructuring and that b) solutions with accompanied AHA! do not underlie a single neurocognitive process. In this regard, we use a modified compound remote associates (CRA) paradigm designed to experimentally dissociate restructuring from the AHA! experience. Results indicate that solutions accompanied by an AHA! are often found also in absence of restructuring. This finding is explained by proposing distinct CRA solution processes that differentiate between AHA! solutions with and without restructuring. We predict that solutions with accompanied AHA! experience differ in their behavioral, neural and eye-tracking related signature as a function of restructuring. The results mostly support these predictions. These findings have implications for insight research: First, by only measuring the subjective AHA! experience especially using CRAs it cannot be implied anymore that restructuring has occurred. Second, it is vital to experimentally separate the different components of insight to better understand its underlying diverse neurocognitive processes.

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