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Working memory and insight in verbal problems: analysis of compound remote associates
Jason M Chein1, Robert W Weisberg
1Department of Psychology, Temple University, 825 Weiss Hall 1701 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19122, USA, jchein@temple.edu.
Memory & Cognition
|July 19, 2013
Summary
Cognitive processes underlying insight in problem-solving were explored. Individual differences in verbal working memory (WM) and attention significantly predicted insightful solutions, supporting a "business-as-usual" cognitive account.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Psychology
- Neuroscience
Background:
- Insightful problem solving, characterized by a sudden feeling of knowing, is debated regarding its underlying cognitive mechanisms.
- Two main views exist: a special-process view and a business-as-usual account involving conscious mechanisms like working memory (WM) and attention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the roles of working memory (WM) capacity and attention control in solving compound remote associate (CRA) problems.
- To determine if these cognitive functions contribute to solutions accompanied by subjective insight.
Main Methods:
- An individual-differences approach was employed, correlating performance on CRA problems with measures of verbal and spatial WM capacity and attention control (Stroop, antisaccade tasks).
- Participants provided self-report ratings to identify problems solved with insight.
Main Results:
- Individual differences in verbal WM and attention control significantly predicted overall performance on CRA problems.
- Crucially, these cognitive factors also predicted the likelihood of solutions being accompanied by a subjective feeling of insight.
Conclusions:
- The findings support a business-as-usual account of insight, implicating both modality-dependent WM and modality-independent attention mechanisms.
- Evidence suggests that conscious cognitive processes, rather than specialized unconscious mechanisms, underlie insightful problem solving in this context.
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