Differentiating insight from non-insight problems
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate whether a range of tasks that have been generally classed as requiring insight form an empirically separable group of tasks distinct from tasks generally classed as non-insight. In this study, 24 insight tasks, 10 non-insight tasks, and tests of individual differences in cognitive abilities and working memory were administered to 60 participants. Cluster analysis of the problem-solving tasks indicated that the presumed insight problems did tend to cluster with other presumed insight problems, and similarly the presumed non-insight problems tended to cluster with other presumed non-insight tasks. Performance on presumed insight problems was particularly linked to measures of ideational flexibility with a different pattern of results for the non-insight tasks. Spatial insight problems were linked to spatial flexibility and verbal insight tasks were linked to vocabulary scores. The results are discussed in relation to recent developments of dual process theories of thinking.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Classic insight problems do not usually trigger an attractive alternative response, whereas the three CRT problems trigger a strong alternative response that must be overridden.
“Classic insight problems (see Gilhooly & Fioratou, 2009;Gilhooly & Murphy, 2005) do not usually trigger an attractive alternative response.”
From The Cognitive Reflection Test as a predictor of performance on heuristics-and-biases tasks (2011) · cites this paper as Gilhooly & Murphy, 2005
Cites
The episodic buffer: a new component of working memory?
Baddeley, A. (2000) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/s1364-6613(00)01538-2 · Cited by 7,359 · cited 1× · see citing works
“Interference by dual tasks is a signature of involvement of working memory as conceptualised by Baddeley (2000) in his very influential model, and the concepts of System 2 and working memory are closely interrelated.”
MethodIndividual differences in working memory and reading
Daneman, M., & Carpenter, P. A. (1980) · Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior · doi:10.1016/s0022-5371(80)90312-6 · Cited by 6,336 · see citing works
A perspective on judgment and choice: mapping bounded rationality.
Kahneman, D. (2003) · American Psychologist · doi:10.1037/0003-066x.58.9.697 · Cited by 5,540 · see citing works
Individual differences in reasoning: Implications for the rationality debate?
Stanovich, K. E., & West, R. F. (2000) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00003435 · Cited by 4,255 · see citing works
The associative basis of the creative process.
Mednick, S. (1962) · Psychological Review · doi:10.1037/h0048850 · Cited by 4,140 · see citing works
The empirical case for two systems of reasoning.
Sloman, S. A. (1996) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/0033-2909.119.1.3 · Cited by 3,813 · see citing works
Duncker, K. (1945) · Psychological Monographs · doi:10.1037/h0093599 · Cited by 2,938 · see citing works
The Behavioral and Brain Sciences
D., C. P. (1979) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1421932 · Cited by 2,935 · see citing works
In two minds: dual-process accounts of reasoning
Evans, J. S. B. T. (2003) · Trends in Cognitive Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.tics.2003.08.012 · Cited by 2,252 · see citing works
Human memory and the medial temporal region of the brain.
Corsi, P. M. (1972) · McGill University · doi:10.82308/6355 · Cited by 1,294 · see citing works
Mechanization in problem solving: The effect of Einstellung.
Luchins, A. S. (1942) · Psychological Monographs · doi:10.1037/h0093502 · Cited by 1,143 · see citing works
Neural Activity When People Solve Verbal Problems with Insight
Beeman, M. J., Bowden, E. M., Haberman, J. M., Frymiare, J. L., Arambel-Liu, S., Greenblatt, R. E., Reber, P. J., & Kounios, J. (2004) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0020097 · Cited by 1,025 · see citing works
(1919) · Mind · doi:10.1093/mind/xxviii.1.117-a · Cited by 944 · see citing works
Intuition in insight and noninsight problem solving
Metcalfe, J., & Wiebe, D. (1987) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/bf03197722 · Cited by 743 · see citing works
Thoughts beyond words: When language overshadows insight.
Schooler, J. W., Ohlsson, S., & Brooks, K. (1993) · Journal of Experimental Psychology: General · doi:10.1037/0096-3445.122.2.166 · Cited by 694 · see citing works
Reasoning in humans. II. The solution of a problem and its appearance in consciousness
Maier, N. R. F. (1931) · Journal of Comparative Psychology · doi:10.1037/h0071361 · Cited by 621 · see citing works
Constraint relaxation and chunk decomposition in insight problem solving.
Knoblich, G., Ohlsson, S., Haider, H., & Rhenius, D. (1999) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.25.6.1534 · Cited by 607 · see citing works
Creativity - Genius and Other Myths
Weisberg, R. W. (1986) · Cited by 588 · see citing works
Pattern span: a tool for unwelding visuo–spatial memory
Della Sala, S., Gray, C., Baddeley, A., Allamano, N., & Wilson, L. (1999) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/s0028-3932(98)00159-6 · Cited by 576 · see citing works
Kaplan, C. A., & Simon, H. A. (1990) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(90)90008-r · Cited by 530 · see citing works
Information-processing explanations of insight and related phenomena
Ohlsson, S. (1992) · Medical Entomology and Zoology · Cited by 446 · see citing works
Baddeley, A., Logie, R. H., Nimmo‐Smith, I., & Brereton, N. (1985) · Journal of Memory and Language · doi:10.1016/0749-596x(85)90019-1 · Cited by 428 · see citing works
Aha! Insight experience correlates with solution activation in the right hemisphere
Bowden, E. M., & Jung-Beeman, M. (2003) · Psychonomic Bulletin & Review · doi:10.3758/bf03196539 · Cited by 421 · see citing works
Feeling of knowing in memory and problem solving.
Metcalfe, J. (1986) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.12.2.288 · Cited by 349 · see citing works
MacGregor, J. N., Ormerod, T. C., & Chronicle, E. P. (2001) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.27.1.176 · Cited by 291 · see citing works
Martin, A., Wiggs, C., Lalonde, F., & Mack, C. (1994) · Neuropsychologia · doi:10.1016/0028-3932(94)90120-1 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Dynamics and constraints in insight problem solving.
Ormerod, T. C., MacGregor, J. N., & Chronicle, E. P. (2002) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.28.4.791 · Cited by 208 · see citing works
Prolegomena to Theories of Insight in Problem Solving: A Taxonomy of Problems
Weisberg, R. W. (1994) · The MIT Press eBooks · doi:10.7551/mitpress/4879.003.0009 · Cited by 201 · see citing works
Maier, N. R. F. (1933) · British Journal of Psychology General Section · doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1933.tb00692.x · Cited by 145 · see citing works
Thinking; An Introduction to Its Experimental Psychology
Ogden, R. M., & Humphrey, G. (1953) · The American Journal of Psychology · doi:10.2307/1417991 · Cited by 141 · see citing works
Chronicle, E. P., MacGregor, J. N., & Ormerod, T. C. (2004) · Journal of Experimental Psychology Learning Memory and Cognition · doi:10.1037/0278-7393.30.1.14 · Cited by 128 · see citing works
An analysis of behavior in the hobbits-orcs problem
Thomas, J. C. (1974) · Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1016/0010-0285(74)90013-9 · Cited by 101 · see citing works
Graph-Theoretic Confirmation of Restructuring During Insight
Durso, F. T., Rea, C. B., & Dayton, T. (1994) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1994.tb00637.x · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Egan, D. E., & Greeno, J. G. (1974) · Cited by 79 · see citing works
Insights about Insightful Problem Solving
Davidson, J. E. (2003) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511615771.006 · Cited by 74 · see citing works
Gilhooly, K. J., Wynn, V., Phillips, L. H., Logie, R. H., & Sala, S. D. (2002) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546780244000006 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Self-citationPlanning Processes and Age in the Five-disc Tower of London Task
Gilhooly, K. J., Phillips, L. H., Wynn, V., Logie, R. H., & Sala, S. D. (1999) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/135467899393977 · Cited by 66 · see citing works
Self-citationSyllogistic Reasoning Tasks, Working Memory, and Skill
Gilhooly, K. J., Logie, R. H., & Wynn, V. (1999) · The European Journal of Cognitive Psychology · doi:10.1080/095414499382264 · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Self-citationEffects of Solution Word Attributes on Anagram Difficulty: A Regression Analysis
Gilhooly, K. J., & Johnson, C. E. (1978) · Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology · doi:10.1080/14640747808400654 · Cited by 58 · see citing works
Self-citationInsight and self-insight in reasoning and decision making
Evans, J. S. B. T. (2005) · Psychology Press eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203338186-8 · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Componential analysis and componential theory
Sternberg, R. J., & Davidson, J. E. (1982) · Behavioral and Brain Sciences · doi:10.1017/s0140525x00012450 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
The Cognitive Reflection Test as a predictor of performance on heuristics-and-biases tasks
Toplak, M. E., West, R. F., & Stanovich, K. E. (2011) · Memory & Cognition · doi:10.3758/s13421-011-0104-1 · Cited by 1,047 · see citing works
Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review.
Sio, U. N., & Ormerod, T. C. (2009) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037/a0014212 · Cited by 549 · see citing works
“The classification of insight problems into visual- and linguisticbased categories is supported by research findings from Gilhooly and Murphy (2005) showing that solving visual and linguistic insight problems requires different types of cognitive skills.”
BackgroundGilhooly, K. J., & Fioratou, E. (2009) · Thinking & Reasoning · doi:10.1080/13546780903178615 · Cited by 143 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Gilhooly, K., & Murphy, P.
- Affiliations
- Brunel University of London (GB)
- Venue
- Thinking & Reasoning
- Publisher
- Informa UK Limited
- Published
- 2005-08
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 279-302
- ISSN
- 1354-6783 (ISSN-L)
- 1464-0708
- OpenAlex
- W2038282880
- Cited by
- 192
- References
- 41
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 11 · 2023: 14 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 27 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 14 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 10 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 3.88
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Thinking & Reasoning (publishedVersion)
- University of Hertfordshire Research Archive (University of Hertfordshire) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Mechanical Engineering › Design Education and Practice
- Keywords
- insight problem solving, problem-solving tasks, spatial flexibility, vocabulary, working memory, individual differences, dual-process theory, task classification
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
