Sleep promotes analogical transfer in problem solving
Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 8, 2026
Measuring Neural Mechanisms Underlying Sleep-Dependent Memory Consolidation During Naps in Early Childhood
Published on: October 2, 2019
Padraic Monaghan1, Ut Na Sio2, Sum Wai Lau1
1Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, UK.
Abstract:
Analogical problem solving requires using a known solution from one problem to apply to a related problem. Sleep is known to have profound effects on memory and information restructuring, and so we tested whether sleep promoted such analogical transfer, determining whether improvement was due to subjective memory for problems, subjective recognition of similarity across related problems, or by abstract generalisation of structure. In Experiment 1, participants were exposed to a set of source problems. Then, after a 12-h period involving sleep or wake, they attempted target problems structurally related to the source problems but with different surface features. Experiment 2 controlled for time of day effects by testing participants either in the morning or the evening. Sleep improved analogical transfer, but effects were not due to improvements in subjective memory or similarity recognition, but rather effects of structural generalisation across problems.
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