执行功能对言语顿悟问题解决的影响:基于行为与ERPs的研究

执行功能是否影响顿悟问题解决,顿悟问题解决中的表征重组阶段是否涉及执行功能仍存在争议。基于此,通过2个研究探讨执行功能对顿悟问题解决的影响。研究1初步探讨执行功能与个体顿悟能力之间的关系,结果发现个体的执行功能与其顿悟问题解决成绩之间存在显著正相关,刷新功能可以显著预测顿悟成绩;研究2使用汉字字谜任务,通过行为与ERPs技术探讨执行功能对言语顿悟问题解决的影响,其中研究2a,行为实验发现高工作记忆刷新能力的个体反应时显著小于低工作记忆刷新能力的个体,说明执行功能中工作记忆刷新亚成分影响顿悟问题解决。研究2b脑电结果发现,"顿悟"条件较之"无顿悟"条件诱发了一个更强的早期成分P2和N2,以及中晚期P3。P2可能主要反映人脑对思维僵局的早期觉察,受到执行功能高低的影响。280~500 ms内,中晚期P3则主要体现以新旧思路交替为特征的僵局打破过程,不受执行功能高低的影响,结果表明汉字字谜顿悟问题的表征重组阶段并未受到执行功能的影响,更倾向认为该阶段为一个突进的过程。综合2个研究说明,执行功能影响顿悟问题解决,其主要作用于顿悟问题解决过程的问题空间搜索阶段,而表征重组阶段是一个突进式的过程。

The effect of executive function on verbal insight problem solving:Behavioral and ERPs studies

The insight problem solving has been proposed to involve different phases:First,there is an initial structuring phase in which the problem's starting conditions,goal and possible actions,as given in the problem statement,are represented internally.A second general stage involves searches within the problem space,which may take the form of means-ends analysis or forward search.However,the initial structuring phase is misleading and solution cannot be reached without re-structuring of the problem representation.Thus,with insight tasks,re-structuring of the problem representation is necessary for the problem to be solved.However,the debate of the psychological mechanism focused on the representation restructuring process,and there are two interpretations:consciousness processing and unconscious processing.We conducted three studies to explore the psychological mechanism of the insight problem solving.Study 1 showed there is a significant positive correlation between the executive functions and the insight problem solving,and updating of working memory representations can predict individual insight scores.Study 2 investigated verbal insight problems,using behaviors and ERPs to explore the effect of executive functions on insight problems.The results showed that the insight,compared with no-insight impasses,elicited a more positive potential P2 and in the time windows 620～800 ms (P3).P2 may reflect that people perceive intuitively mental impasses at the perceptual stage,whereas the P3 is associated with the process of constraint relaxation characterized by the alternation between the old and new ways of thinking.These results suggest that executive function influences searching within the problem space,but not the re-structuring of the problem representation.