Introduction to Theories of Learning by Matthew H. Olson

Author:Matthew H. Olson
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781317350682
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Insightful learning summarized

Insightful learning is usually regarded as having four characteristics: (1) the transition from presolution to solution is sudden and complete; (2) performance based on a solution gained by insight is usually smooth and free of errors; (3) a solution to a problem gained by insight is retained for a considerable length of time; (4) a principle gained by insight is easily applied to other problems. Contemporary researchers tend to agree that these characteristics accompany insight, but they suggest that insight is also accompanied by positive affect, a feeling of satisfaction that accompanies an insighful solution, and a sense of certainty or confidence about the solution, both of which occur before the solution is tested or evaluated (Gick & Lockhart, 1995; Gruber, 1995; Topolinski & Reber, 2010).

Cognitive neuroscientists are attempting to locate the brain mechanisms that generate insight. Obviously, it would be a difficult task to follow people around as they incubate problems, waiting for them to have an “Aha!” moment; but researchers have devised a methodology for studying insight in a short-term format (Kounios & Beeman, 2009; Kounios et al., 2006; Subramaniam, Kounios, Parrish, & Jung-Beeman, 2009). They present participants with compound remote associates problems while recording brain activity using both electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). In a compound remote associates task, a participant sees three words on a computer screen, and he or she must think of a single word that can be combined in a meaningful way with the other three. For example, bump, egg, and step might be presented. The participant presses a computer key as soon as she or he discovers the word goose, which yields goose bump, goose egg, and goose step; and he or she then reports whether the solution came to mind suddenly (insight) or resulted from a systematic, analytical search. Both EEG and fMRI confirmed that different patterns of brain activity occcured prior to presentation of problems that were solved with insight as opposed to those solved analytically. Specifically, temporal lobe activity and activity in the midfrontal region predisposed insightful solutions to the problems: “Greater neural activity was observed for insight than for noninsight preparation in bilateral temporal cortex (with this activity being more extensive on the left than on the right, in both experiments)” (Kounios et al., 2006, p. 887). Thus the brain can be predisposed to generate an insightful, as opposed to an analytical, solution before the problem is actually presented. The data further suggest that the pattern of brain activity changes slightly at the moment of insight. About one-third of a second before the participant presses the computer key and reports an insightful solution, there is a burst of high frequency EEG activity (called gamma activity) in the right temporal lobe; and this activity does not accompany analytical solutions (Jung-Beeman et al., 2004). Curiously, a positive mood further predisposes insightful solutions while anxiety has an opposite effect (Subramaniam et al., 2009). Thus, as noted above, insightful solutions produce positive affect, which predisposes yet more insight.

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