Gaining Insight Into the “Aha” Experience

Topolinski, Sascha; Reber, Rolf

doi:10.1177/0963721410388803

Cited by 304 publications

(286 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Fluid movement enhanced creative but not analytic performance (only the former requires fluid thought), and the influence of fluid movement on creativity was not a result of enhanced conscious experiences of positive affect. One possibility that remains and awaits future research is that fluid movement serves as an implicit affective cue, suggesting a safe environment where explorative creative processing is encouraged (see Friedman & Förster, 2010;Topolinski & Reber, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluid movement and creativity.

Slepian¹,

Ambady²

2012

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

101

108

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Cognitive scientists describe creativity as fluid thought. Drawing from findings on gesture and embodied cognition, we hypothesized that the physical experience of fluidity, relative to nonfluidity, would lead to more fluid, creative thought. Across 3 experiments, fluid arm movement led to enhanced creativity in 3 domains: creative generation, cognitive flexibility, and remote associations. Alternative mechanisms such as enhanced mood and motivation were also examined. These results suggest that creativity can be influenced by certain types of physical movement.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluid movement and creativity.

Slepian¹,

Ambady²

2012

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General

101

108

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Such an Aha! experience is typically defined as the comprehension of the solution being sudden and unexpected-that participants are completely convinced of the correctness of the solution, and that the solution is in hindsight being experienced as easy and very clear (Danek, Fraps, von Müller, Grothe, & Öllinger, 2014;Topolinski & Reber, 2010). Also, the Aha!…”

Section: The Aha! Experience and Later Memorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The definition of the Aha! experience read approximately as follows (translated from German) and was based on the criteria listed by Topolinski and Reber (2010), with the exception of the "positive emotional response" criterion because this was evaluated separately:…”

Section: Stimulus Materials and Apparatusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Problem Solving as an Encoding Task: A Special Case of the Generation Effect

Kizilirmak

Wiegmann²,

Richardson‐Klavehn³

2016

The Journal of Problem Solving

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Recent evidence suggests that solving problems through insight can enhance long-term memory for the problem and its solution. Previous findings have shown that generation of the solution as well as experiencing a feeling of Aha! can have a beneficial relationship to later memory. These findings lead to the question of how learning in problem-solving tasks in which a novel solution needs to be generated-such as in tasks used to study insightdiffers from the classical generation effect. Because previous studies on learning from insight on one hand and the generation effect on the other hand have measured different types of memory, the present study examined two kinds of memory measures: indirect (solving old and new problems at test) and direct (recognition memory). At encoding, we manipulated whether participants had the chance to solve Compound Remote Associates Task items and compared later memory for generated solutions (generate condition) to solutions that were presented after failing to generate one (fail-to-generate condition), and to solutions that were presented without a chance at generation (read condition). Participants also reported if they had an Aha! experience for each problem. While both Aha! experiences and generated solutions were associated with more positive emotional responses, only the generation variable was associated with differences in later memory performance. While attempts to generate had an advantage over the read condition in recognition memory performance (generate > fail-to-generate > read), only when generation was successful did it enhance the solution rate of old items during testing (generate > read > fail-to-generate). Contrary to generation effects with other verbal stimuli, these results suggest that the generation effect in problem-solving tasks in which a novel solution needs to be found differs from the classical generation effect. Seeing a correct solution for a longer time (read) seems in the current case to be more helpful for solving the same problem later on, compared to being presented with the solution after a failed attempt at problem solving.

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“…A search of APA PsycNET using the keywords "insight and problem solving" yielded a range of recent definitions. Topolinski and Reber (2010) defined insight as an "experience during or subsequent to problem-solving attempts, in which problem-related content comes to mind with sudden ease and provides a feeling of pleasure, the belief that the solution is true, and confidence in this belief" (pg. 401-2).…”

Section: What Is Insight?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigating Insight as Sudden Learning

Ash¹,

Jee²,

Wiley³

2012

The Journal of Problem Solving

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Abstract:Gestalt psychologists proposed two distinct learning mechanisms. Associative learning occurs gradually through the repeated co-occurrence of external stimuli or memories. Insight learning occurs suddenly when people discover new relationships within their prior knowledge as a result of reasoning or problem solving processes that re-organize or restructure that knowledge. While there has been a considerable amount of research on the type of problem solving processes described by the Gestalt psychologists, less has focused on the learning that results from these processes. This paper begins with a historical review of the Gestalt theory of insight learning. Next, the core assumptions of Gestalt insight learning theory are empirically tested with a study that investigated the relationships among problem difficulty, impasse, initial problem representations, and resolution effects. Finally, Gestalt insight learning theory is discussed in relation to modern information processing theories of comprehension and memory formation.

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Gaining Insight Into the “Aha” Experience

Cited by 304 publications

References 17 publications

Fluid movement and creativity.

Fluid movement and creativity.

Problem Solving as an Encoding Task: A Special Case of the Generation Effect

Investigating Insight as Sudden Learning

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