a b c d Lin, Wei-Lun; Hsu, Kung-Yu; Chen, Hsueh-Chih; etal. (2011). "The relations of gender and personality traits on different creativities: A dual-process theory account". Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts. 6 (2): 112–123. doi: 10.1037/a0026241. S2CID 55632785. People are poorer at predicting their own metacognition for insight problems, than for non-insight problems. [24] People were asked to indicate how "hot" or "cold" to a solution they felt. Generally, they were able to predict this fairly well for non-insight problems, but not for insight problems. [24] This provides evidence for the suddenness involved during insight. Perivoliotis, Dimitri; Grant, Paul M.; Peters, Emmanuelle R.; etal. (2010). "Cognitive insight predicts favorable outcome in cognitive behavioral therapy for psychosis". Psychosis. 2: 23–33. doi: 10.1080/17522430903147520. S2CID 143474848. Generally, methodological approaches to the study of insight in the laboratory involve presenting participants with problems and puzzles that cannot be solved in a conventional or logical manner. [8] Problems of insight commonly fall into three types: [8] Breaking functional fixedness [ edit ] Example of a RAT problem.

Neuroscience typically contrasts insight with analytical reasoning within problem solving. A directly perceivable difference between the two seems to be a more or less gradual progress toward a solution in analytical thinking ( Smith and Kounios, 1996), while individuals are abruptly surprised by the latter during an insightful solution ( Metcalfe and Wiebe, 1987). Thus, insight is believed to depend by a large degree (but not completely) on unconscious mental processing, as we will see in the next sections ( Sandkühler and Bhattacharya, 2008; Shen et al., 2013, 2018; Weisberg, 2013). Convergent Insight Process Theories a b c Klein, G.; Jarosz, A. (17 November 2011). "A Naturalistic Study of Insight". Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making. 5 (4): 335–351. doi: 10.1177/1555343411427013. Webb, Margaret E.; Little, Daniel R.; Cropper, Simon J. (2016). "Insight Is Not in the Problem: Investigating Insight in Problem Solving across Task Types". Frontiers in Psychology. 7: 1424. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01424. ISSN 1664-1078. PMC 5035735. PMID 27725805.a b Metcalfe, Janet; Wiebe, David (1987). "Intuition in insight and noninsight problem solving". Memory & Cognition. 15 (3): 238–246. doi: 10.3758/BF03197722. PMID 3600264.

Other studies used online questionnaires to explore insight outside of the laboratory, [26] [2] verifying the notion that insight often happens in situations such as in the shower, [23] and echoing the idea that creative ideas occur in situations where divergent thought is more likely, sometimes called the Three "B"s of Creativity, in Bed, on the Bus, or in the Bath. The authors are funded by the WWTF Project CS18-023 and START project Y 01309 by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) to AA. Conflict of Interest Insight is a measurable phenomenon in humans, and the mechanisms by which it occurs may well be accessible to species other than our own. Thanks to recent progress in neuroscience and human psychology, we are beginning to clarify the (in some cases subtle) differences that distinguish insight problem solving from other processes. Comparative cognition, however, has so far been limited in its approach. Performance-based setups using technical problems in both birds and mammals have produced highly interesting and suggestive, yet, ambivalent evidence on animal insight (e.g., Heinrich, 1995; Mendes et al., 2007; Bird and Emery, 2009a, b; Laumer et al., 2017, 2018; von Bayern et al., 2018). We are optimistic that accomplishments in neuroscience and human psychology over the past decade can be incorporated into and inspire future comparative cognition studies in their ongoing quest to learn about the capacity for insight in species other than our own. Author Contributionsa b Segal, Eliaz (1 March 2004). "Incubation in Insight Problem Solving". Creativity Research Journal. 16 (1): 141–48. doi: 10.1207/s15326934crj1601_13. S2CID 145742283. Model reduction occurs neither only during sleep, nor only in humans. Rats that move away from exploratory or spatial foraging behavior, and enter short periods of rest, have been found to have hippocampal activity similar to what we would expect in models undergoing insight-compatible changes ( Gupta et al., 2010; Pezzulo et al., 2014; Friston et al., 2017). Internally generated sequences (sequences of multi-neuron firing activity that do not reflect an ongoing behavioral sequence) seem to be able to restructure models, not only consolidating memory but also exploring potential solutions ( Pezzulo et al., 2014). The Eureka Experience Weiten, W.; McCann, D. (2007). Themes and Variations. Nelson Education ltd: Thomson Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0176472733. Higher intelligence (higher IQ) is associated with better performance on insight problems. However, those of lower intelligence benefit more than those of higher intelligence from being provided with cues and hints for insight problems. [8] Studies based on event-related potentials have so far been able to identify two distinct cognitive processes involved in achieving an insightful event: the breaking down of the impasse (allowing incubation/restructuring) and the formation of new associations prior to the solution ( Luo and Niki, 2003; Luo et al., 2011; Zhao et al., 2013; Shen et al., 2018; it is also described as the enlightenment stage by Wallas, 1926).