Cognitive and neural mechanisms of insightful solutions Mark Jung-Beeman, Northwestern University In collaboration with: John Kounios, Ed Bowden, Karuna Subramaniam, Ezra Wegbreit Thanks to: Todd Parrish, Paul Reber, Jason Haberman, Zoe Clancy, Jennifer Frymaire, and many others….
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Cognitive and neural mechanisms of insightful solutions
Cognitive and neural mechanisms of insightful solutions. Mark Jung-Beeman, Northwestern University In collaboration with: John Kounios , Ed Bowden, Karuna Subramaniam, Ezra Wegbreit Thanks to: Todd Parrish, Paul Reber, Jason Haberman, Zoe Clancy, Jennifer Frymaire, and many others…. - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
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Cognitive and neural mechanisms of insightful solutions
Mark Jung-Beeman, Northwestern University
In collaboration with:
John Kounios, Ed Bowden, Karuna Subramaniam, Ezra Wegbreit
Thanks to:
Todd Parrish, Paul Reber, Jason Haberman, Zoe Clancy, Jennifer Frymaire, and many others….
Left Hemisphere Relatively fine semantic codingGood for strong activation, rapid selection, categorizationMight miss distant associations
Right Hemisphere Relatively coarse semantic codingWeak, diffuse activation, not easily accessible (unconscious?)Better able to detect semantic overlap from distant associations
Insight as creative problem solving
Generally considered a type of creative thought
Requires cognitive flexibility (restructuring)
Divergent thinking (plus convergent)
Correlated with other creative processes
distinct marker ~ instance of creative thinking
Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight
Objective measure of subjective experience
Covert measure / Access to unconscious processing
Brain structures, type of activity can inform theories of cognitive processing
Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight
Objective measure of subjective experience
Covert measure / Access to unconscious processing
Brain structures, type of activity can inform theories of cognitive processing
Methodological Constraints
• Need many trials for adequate signal:: noise
• Need proper control condition
Short insight-like problems, based on the
RAT Compound Remote Associate Problems Bowden & Jung Beeman, 1998
Remote Associates Test: RAT (Mednick, 1962)
child
scanbirdsame strike
tennis
Short insight-like problems, based on the
RAT Compound Remote Associate Problems Bowden & Jung Beeman, 1998
Remote Associates Test: RAT (Mednick, 1962)
child
scanbirdsame strike
tennis
BRAINMATCH
RAT CRAP
More flexibility LessUnknown type of association CompoundHarder Easier
• Rapid Identification - more solved, more insight
• Central focus - less insight
• Global motion - more solved
• Multiple object (ball) tracking
Inducing attention for insight
• Set 1 CRA problems
• all 4 attention tasks,
- Central Focus --> Rapid ID (less to more insight)
• Set 2 CRA problmes
Correlations?
Changes in performance
Inducing attention for insight
• Set 1 CRA problems
• 1 attention tasks X 4 groups- Central Focus- Rapid ID - Ball tracking- Global motion
• Set 2 CRA problems
Changes in performance?
Inducing attention for insight
Changes in performance?
• Central Focus- solving, analytic, insight
• Rapid ID - solving, analytic, insight
• Ball tracking & Global motion - ns diffs
ConclusionsInsight emphasizes different cognitive and neural components than
does analytic processing
• Right aSTG - integrate distant elements• ACC readiness to detect/switch to competing candidates• overall more top-down approach; disengage from input
Mood and attentional states modulate component processes conducive to insight
- which are more likely to be (weakly) active in RH
ConclusionsInsight emphasizes different cognitive and neural components than
does analytic processing
• Right aSTG - integrate distant elements• ACC readiness to detect/switch to competing candidates• overall more top-down approach; disengage from input
Mood and attentional states modulate component processes conducive to insight