Insight and the selection of ideas

Laukkonen, Ruben E.; Webb, Margaret; Salvi, Carola; Tangen, Jason M.; Slagter, Heleen A.; Schooler, Jonathan W.

doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105363

Cited by 16 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 153 publications

(257 reference statements)

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“…experience ratings both for correct and incorrect solutions. This result is consistent with the previous data on magic trick materials ( Danek and Wiley, 2017 ) and CRAT ( Stuyck et al, 2021 ; Moroshkina et al, 2022 ) and favors the Eureka heuristic ( Laukkonen et al, 2023 ). Obtaining the Aha!-confidence effect not only for correct solutions but also for incorrect ones corresponds to the processing fluency account ( Topolinski and Reber, 2010 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The Aha! experience is associated with a drop in the perceived difficulty of the problem

Moroshkina,

Pavliuchik,

Ammalainen

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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The study investigated the correlation between the intensity of the Aha! experience and participants’ subjective difficulty ratings of problems before and after finding their solutions. We assumed that the Aha! experience arises from a shift in processing fluency triggered by changing from an initially incoherent problem representation to a coherent one, which ultimately leads to the retrieval of a solution with unexpected ease and speed. First, we hypothesized that higher Aha! experience ratings would indicate more sudden solutions, manifesting in a reduced correlation between the initial difficulty ratings and solution times. Second, we hypothesized that higher Aha! experience ratings would correspond to a greater shift in the subjective difficulty ratings between the initial and retrospective assessments. To test our hypotheses, we developed a novel set of rebus puzzles. A total of 160 participants solved rebuses and provided initial (within 5 s of problem presentation) and retrospective difficulty ratings (following the generation or presentation of a correct solution). They also rated their Aha! experience (after solution generation or presentation), confidence in solutions, and the likability of each rebus. Our findings revealed that the initial ratings of the problem’s subjective difficulty were positively correlated with the solution time and that this correlation decreased in the case of a stronger Aha! experience. Aha! experience ratings were positively correlated with the differences between initial and retrospective difficulty ratings, confidence, solution accuracy, and rebus likability. We interpreted our results to be in line with the processing fluency and metacognitive prediction error accounts.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 93%

The Aha! experience is associated with a drop in the perceived difficulty of the problem

Moroshkina,

Pavliuchik,

Ammalainen

et al. 2024

Front. Psychol.

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“…The gamma activity observed during the CAT‐solving with insight may reflect the awareness of a solution that popped up suddenly in mind, yielding the subjective Eurêka experience. Besides, previous studies revealed gamma activity in frontal and temporal regions (Gueguen et al, 2021 ) associated with reward or prediction error signals, which have been showed recently tighly linked with insight or Eureka moments (Becker et al, 2023 ; Dubey et al, 2021 ; Laukkonen et al, 2023 ; Oh et al, 2020 ). Hence, whether gamma activity can reflect prediction error in our study remains an open question.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Time course of EEG power during creative problem‐solving with insight or remote thinking

Bieth,

Ovando‐Tellez,

Lopez‐Persem

et al. 2023

Human Brain Mapping

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Problem‐solving often requires creativity and is critical in everyday life. However, the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying creative problem‐solving remain poorly understood. Two mechanisms have been highlighted: the formation of new connections among problem elements and insight solving, characterized by sudden realization of a solution. In this study, we investigated EEG activity during a modified version of the remote associates test, a classical insight problem task that requires finding a word connecting three unrelated words. This allowed us to explore the brain correlates associated with the semantic remoteness of connections (by varying the remoteness of the solution word across trials) and with insight solving (identified as a Eurêka moment reported by the participants). Semantic remoteness was associated with power increase in the alpha band (8–12 Hz) in a left parieto‐temporal cluster, the beta band (13–30 Hz) in a right fronto‐temporal cluster in the early phase of the task, and the theta band (3–7 Hz) in a bilateral frontal cluster just prior to participants' responses. Insight solving was associated with power increase preceding participants' responses in the alpha and gamma (31–60 Hz) bands in a left temporal cluster and the theta band in a frontal cluster. Source reconstructions revealed the brain regions associated with these clusters. Overall, our findings shed new light on some of the mechanisms involved in creative problem‐solving.

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“…More broadly, all manner of intense insight experiences are possible in the course of altered states of consciousness, including those induced by meditation (Tulver et al, 2023). However, that does not make them necessarily true, or even adaptive, as recent research shows that false insight experiences can be induced in the lab (Grimmer et al, 2023;Grimmer, Laukkonen, Freydenzon, et al, 2022; and even misattributed to make false information feel true (Laukkonen et al, 2020(Laukkonen et al, , 2022Laukkonen, Webb, et al, 2023).…”

Section: Clarifying Misconceptions About No-thingness and Nothingnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the brain also infers the precision of its inferences (second-order predictions), which aims to account for attention and selection processes. This hierarchical arrangement allows the brain not only to predict what sensory inputs to anticipate but also to evaluate the degree of confidence (precision weighting) associated with those predictions, prediction errors, and priors, which permits a kind of insight into one's own modeling (Friston et al, 2017;Laukkonen, Webb, et al, 2023). Furthermore, the brain also refines its generative model without active inference or novel sensory input by "chipping away" at prior knowledge (i.e., finding simple explanations for known data), known as fact-free learning (Friston et al, 2017).…”

Section: Computational Directionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nothingness in Meditation: Making Sense of Emptiness and Cessation

Agrawal,

Laukkonen

2024

Preprint

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Contemplative practices have been shown to elicit a range of experiences and insights often referred to as "nothingness". However, these encounters are frequently conflated and remain undifferentiated. Here we address this ambiguity and provide a nuanced understanding of two such events: 1) emptiness (lack of inherent existence in experience, i.e., no-thingness) and 2) cessation (‘cut’ or absence in the stream of consciousness, i.e., nothingness). We synthesize insights from Buddhist literature and empirical research, investigating the relationship between these ‘nothingness’ phenomena, their transformative effects, and neural correlates. We also examine multiple pathways that may lead to cessation and consider potential cognitive models underlying these experiences using the active inference framework. Finally, we discuss the relationship between ‘nothingness’ events and cessation of suffering and enduring equanimity, setting the stage for further development in this field. Our unique contributions involve juxtaposing various experiences of “void, oneness, non-dual awareness, pure consciousness” with insights into “emptiness and cessation”, and analyzing their potential implications for alleviating suffering.

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Insight and the selection of ideas

Cited by 16 publications

References 153 publications

The Aha! experience is associated with a drop in the perceived difficulty of the problem

The Aha! experience is associated with a drop in the perceived difficulty of the problem

Time course of EEG power during creative problem‐solving with insight or remote thinking

Nothingness in Meditation: Making Sense of Emptiness and Cessation

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