Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Testing two cognitive theories of insight.

Gary Jones1

  • 1Centre for Psychological Research in Health and Cognition, University of Derby, Western Road, Mickleover, Derby DE3 5GX, U.K. g.jones@derby.ac.uk

Journal of Experimental Psychology. Learning, Memory, and Cognition
|October 1, 2003
PubMed
Summary

This study tested two theories of insight problem solving. Results suggest the representational change theory better explains performance, using eye movement data to track problem-solving insights.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Noise Management Preferences During Long-Term Hearing Aid Usage and Their Relation to Audiologic Factors.

Trends in hearing·2026
Same author

Trends in 18 years of keratoplasty in Europe: insights from the European Eye Bank Association's data.

The British journal of ophthalmology·2026
Same author

Corrigendum to "Semantic support and sex differences in toddlers' spoken word recognition". [J. Exp. Child Psychol. 265 (2026) 1-13/106466].

Journal of experimental child psychology·2026
Same author

Semantic support and sex differences in toddlers' spoken word recognition.

Journal of experimental child psychology·2026
Same author

A bio-ecological model for early screening of developmental coordination disorder.

Developmental medicine and child neurology·2025
Same author

A new yeast strain for valorisation of vinasse, a rum distillery waste product.

Biotechnology for biofuels and bioproducts·2025

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Problem Solving Research

Background:

  • Insight in problem solving is characterized by a sudden realization of a solution.
  • Two prominent theories, representational change theory and progress monitoring theory, attempt to explain this phenomenon.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test the representational change theory and progress monitoring theory in an unlimited move problem context.
  • To evaluate the efficacy of eye movement data in examining insight and testing related theories.

Main Methods:

  • An unlimited move problem was designed to test predictions from both theories.
  • Experimental manipulations were introduced to the problem.
  • Eye movement data was collected to analyze problem-solving processes.

Main Results:

Related Experiment Videos

  • Both theories received some support from the experimental findings.
  • The representational change theory emerged as a better predictor of problem-solving performance.
  • Eye movement data proved to be a valuable tool for insight research.

Conclusions:

  • The representational change theory offers a more robust explanation for insight in the tested problem.
  • Further research can utilize opposing predictions and eye tracking to investigate theories of insight.