Do People Really Have Insights in the Shower? The When,Where and Who of the Aha! Moment

While there are well‐known anecdotes and documented insight cases by renowned scientists and inventors, little is known about the experiences of insight in the general population. The present study aimed to determine peoples' self‐reported experience of insight in their daily lives. Using an online questionnaire, responses were obtained from 1,114 respondents. Eighty‐percent reported having insights. These respondents reported demographic information and answered three open‐ended questions on where their insights occur, what insights are and other thoughts on insight. A greater percentage of those who have insights are, female, younger, highly educated, and involved in occupations including, management, sciences, arts and service professions. The qualitative results uncovered eight major themes, reflecting on the places people have insights: At night, work, shower, home, when it is quiet, transport, while exercising, and in nature. Two major themes emerged on what insights are: Something from the subconscious, and a result of (not) thinking. Finally, three major themes emerged from the third question on thoughts they would like to share on insight: The improvement of insight with age, the importance of analyzing the details of the problem, and the unexpectedness of the solution. Results are discussed in the context of the current experimental research on insight.     

基于外域范例可拓推理的研究

基于范例推理(CBR)是人类常用的一种解决问题方式,也是人工智能的一种研究范式,在许多领域都得到了应用。但CBR也可能受到心理定势和负迁移的影响,对于创造性思维有一定的负面作用。研究对CBR进行了改进,提出了在外域搜索范例并作可拓变换的方法,称为基于外域范例的可拓推理,并将它运用到产品创新构思系统的设计中,为把认知心理学应用到国家经济建设中提供了新思路。     

工作记忆对顿悟和分析型问题解决的影响

摘要 采用顿悟-分析自我报告范式,以远距离联想任务为实验材料,从工作记忆容量和工作记忆负荷两个角度考察了工作记忆对顿悟和分析型问题解决的影响。结果表明,高工作记忆容量个体分析型问题解决的表现优于低工作记忆容量者,但在顿悟表现上无显著差异;工作记忆负荷较小时个体分析型问题解决表现更佳,但对顿悟表现没有影响。说明通过分析解决创造性问题的表现依赖于工作记忆的支持,而通过顿悟解决问题的表现与工作记忆无关。     

Training generalized improvisation of tools by preschool children

The development of new, "creative" behaviors was examined in a problem-solving context. One form of problem solving, improvisation, was defined as finding a substitute to replace the specifically designated, but currently unavailable, tool ordinarily used to solve the problem. The study examined whether preschool children spontaneously displayed generalized improvisation skills, and if not, whether they could be trained to do so within different classes of tools. Generalization across different tool classes was monitored but not specifically trained. Five preschool children participated in individual sessions that first probed their skill at improvising tools, and later trained and probed generalized improvisation in one or more of three tool classes (Hammers, Containers, and Shoelaces), using a multiple-baseline design. All five children were trained with Hammers, two were trained in two classes, and two were trained in all three tool classes. Four of the five children improvised little in Baseline. During Training, all five showed increased generalized improvisation within the trained class, but none across classes. Tools fabricated by item combinations were rare in Baseline, but common in Training. Followup probes showed that the training effects were durable.     

科学发明中原型启发的创造性思维成分及其脑机制

目前对创造性思维的测量及神经机制的研究, 国际上大多采用发散思维任务、远距离联想测验、顿悟问题解决等任务。但这些测量工具大多停留在对非科学类问题解决的研究上, 因此生态效度和预测效度都不高。本项目在前面研究的基础上, 探讨更符合现实生活的科学发明中原型启发的创造性思维成分及机制。研究一通过两个行为实验探索原型启发能力的创造性思维成分测试的结构效度; 研究二运用大样本磁共振数据, 从脑机制上进一步验证创造性思维成分的结构效度; 研究三通过3个核磁任务态探索原型启发能力的主要创造性思维成分的脑机制; 研究四试图在高校和企业研发机构进行跟踪研究, 检验创造性思维成分测试的预测效度。通过本项目的开展, 希望开发具有更高预测效度和生态效度的用于发明创造领域的创造性测量工具。     

科学发明问题解决的脑机制再探

选取高生态学效度的科学发明问题作为实验材料, 采用“学习−测试”的两阶段实验范式, 利用静息态功能磁共振成像技术, 基于局部一致性(ReHo)和低频振幅(ALFF)的分析方法, 研究科学发明问题解决的神经机制。在控制被试性别、年龄和常规性问题解决能力后, 结果发现左侧前扣带回(Anterior Cingulate Cortex, ACC)的ReHo值和个体科学发明问题解决的正确率显著正相关, ALFF的结果同样印证了这一发现。结果强调了ACC在科学发明问题解决过程中的重要作用。     

Eight-dimensional methodology for innovative thinking about the case and ethics of the mount graham,large binocular telescope project

This paper introduces the Eight Dimensional Methodology for Innovative Thinking (the Eight Dimensional Methodology), for innovative problem solving, as a unified approach to case analysis that builds on comprehensive problem solving knowledge from industry, business, marketing, math, science, engineering, technology, arts, and daily life. It is designed to stimulate innovation by quickly generating unique “out of the box” unexpected and high quality solutions. It gives new insights and thinking strategies to solve everyday problems faced in the workplace, by helping decision makers to see otherwise obscure alternatives and solutions. Daniel Raviv, the engineer who developed the Eight Dimensional Methodology, and paper co-author, technology ethicist Rosalyn Berne, suggest that this tool can be especially useful in identifying solutions and alternatives for particular problems of engineering, and for the ethical challenges which arise with them. First, the Eight Dimensional Methodology helps to elucidate how what may appear to be a basic engineering problem also has ethical dimensions. In addition, it offers to the engineer a methodology for penetrating and seeing new dimensions of those problems. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the Eight Dimensional Methodology as an analytical tool for thinking about ethical challenges to engineering, the paper presents the case of the construction of the Large Binocular Telescope (LBT) on Mount Graham in Arizona. Analysis of the case offers to decision makers the use of the Eight Dimensional Methodology in considering alternative solutions for how they can proceed in their goals of exploring space. It then follows that same process through the second stage of exploring the ethics of each of those different solutions. The LBT project pools resources from an international partnership of universities and research institutes for the construction and maintenance of a highly sophisticated, powerful new telescope. It will soon mark the erection of the world’s largest and most powerful optical telescope, designed to see fine detail otherwise visible only from space. It also represents a controversial engineering project that is being undertaken on land considered to be sacred by the local, native Apache people. As presented, the case features the University of Virginia, and its challenges in consideration of whether and how to join the LBT project consortium. Earlier versions of this paper were presented at the “Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology” meeting, New Orlenas, 2003 and at the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) annual Meeting, 2003.     

The contributions of convergent thinking,divergent thinking,and schizotypy to solving insight and non-insight problems

The ability to generate diverse ideas (divergent thinking) is valuable in solving creative problems (e.g., insight problems); yet, however advantageous, this ability is insufficient to solve the problem alone and requires the ability to logically deduce an assessment of correctness of each solution (convergent thinking). Positive schizotypy may help isolate the aspects of divergent thinking prevalent in insight problem solving. Participants were presented with a measure of schizotypy (Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences), divergent and convergent thinking tasks, insight problems, and non-insight problems. We found no evidence for a relationship between schizotypy and insight problem solving. Relationships between divergent thinking and insight problem solving were also surprisingly weak; however, measures of convergent thinking had a stronger relationship with problem solving. These results suggest that convergent thinking is more important than divergent thinking in problem solving.     

中学生问题解决策略的基本特征研究

实验通过人—机界面,对中学生解决几何问题策略的基本特征进行探讨。对学习成绩优、差学生,在解决问题的程序上和解决问题结果的正确与错误上的差异比较后显示：学习成绩优、差学生在解决问题的程序上,尤其在问题解决的思考推理方向上没有类似专家和新手之间的显著差异;学习成绩的优、差对解决问题结果的正确与错误上具有直接的影响;问题解决规则的选择对问题解决过程具有间接影响;对问题解决规则的掌握对问题解决的结果具有重要影响。