The Effect of Reportable and Unreportable Hints on Anagram Solution and the Aha! Experience

Two experiments examine the effects of unreportable hints on anagram solving performance and on solvers' subjective experience of insight. In Experiment 1, after seeing a hint (unrelated, semantically related, or the solution) presented too briefly to identify, participants solved anagrams prec...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Consciousness and cognition 1997-12, Vol.6 (4), p.545-573
Main Author: Bowden, Edward M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Awareness - physiology
Biological and medical sciences
Cognition. Intelligence
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Problem Solving - physiology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Reasoning. Problem solving
Time Factors
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Summary:Two experiments examine the effects of unreportable hints on anagram solving performance and on solvers' subjective experience of insight. In Experiment 1, after seeing a hint (unrelated, semantically related, or the solution) presented too briefly to identify, participants solved anagrams preceded by the solution fastest and solved anagrams preceded by unrelated hints slowest. Participants' “warmth” ratings for solution hints were more insight-like than those for unrelated hints. In Experiment 2 a hint, or no hint, was presented at one of three different exposure durations (undetectable, unreportable, or reportable). Participants benefited from solution-relevant hints that were either unreportable or reportable, but showed a cost only for unrelated hints that were reportable. Participants' ratings of their insight experiences showed that unreportable solution and semantically related hints produced more insight-like experiences than did unrelated hints. The results suggest that unreportable processing of solution-related information is important for the insight experience.
ISSN:1053-8100
1090-2376
DOI:10.1006/ccog.1997.0325