Insight with hands and things

Two experiments examined whether different task ecologies influenced insight problem solving. The 17 animals problem was employed, a pure insight problem. Its initial formulation encourages the application of a direct arithmetic solution, but its solution requires the spatial arrangement of sets inv...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Acta psychologica 2016-10, Vol.170, p.195-205
Main Authors: Vallée-Tourangeau, Frédéric, Steffensen, Sune Vork, Vallée-Tourangeau, Gaëlle, Sirota, Miroslav
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cognition - physiology
Creativity
Enactivism
Female
Humans
Individuality
Insight
Male
Mathematics
Memory, Short-Term - physiology
Methodological individualism
Neuropsychological Tests
Photic Stimulation
Problem solving
Problem Solving - physiology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Task ecology
Young Adult
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Summary:Two experiments examined whether different task ecologies influenced insight problem solving. The 17 animals problem was employed, a pure insight problem. Its initial formulation encourages the application of a direct arithmetic solution, but its solution requires the spatial arrangement of sets involving some degree of overlap. Participants were randomly allocated to either a tablet condition where they could use a stylus and an electronic tablet to sketch a solution or a model building condition where participants were given material with which to build enclosures and figurines. In both experiments, participants were much more likely to develop a working solution in the model building condition. The difference in performance elicited by different task ecologies was unrelated to individual differences in working memory, actively open-minded thinking, or need for cognition (Experiment 1), although individual differences in creativity were correlated with problem solving success in Experiment 2. The discussion focuses on the implications of these findings for the prevailing metatheoretical commitment to methodological individualism that places the individual as the ontological locus of cognition. •Two experiments examined whether different task ecologies influenced insight.•Participants who built a physical model were more likely to solve the problem.•Working memory capacity did not predict problem solving success.•These findings support the relational ontology of insight.
ISSN:0001-6918
1873-6297
DOI:10.1016/j.actpsy.2016.08.006