In four experiments on insight problem solving, we investigated the time course of the development of solution knowledge prior to response, as well as the impact of stimulus familiarity on task performance and eye movement measures. In each experiment, participants solved anagram problems while their eye movements were monitored.
In Experiments 1a and 1b, each anagram problem consisted of a circular array of letters: a scrambled four-letter solution word containing three consonants and one vowel, and an additional randomly-placed distractor consonant. Viewing times on the distractor consonant compared to the solution consonants provided an online measure of knowledge of the solution. Viewing times on the distractor consonant and the solution consonants were indistinguishable early in the trial. In contrast, several seconds prior to the response, viewing times on the distractor consonant decreased in a gradual manner compared to viewing times on the solution consonants. Importantly, this pattern was obtained across both trials in which participants reported the subjective experience of insight and trials in which they did not. These findings are consistent with the availability of partial knowledge of the solution prior to such information being accessible to subjective phenomenal awareness.
In Experiments 2 and 3, each anagram problem consisted of a centrally located three-letter string plus three additional individual letters located above and to the side of the central letter string. All the letters in the central letter string were members of the five-letter solution word, while one of the individual letters was a randomly placed distractor. In Experiment 2, we replicated our findings of the gradual development of solution knowledge using this more complex stimulus display. In Experiment 3, we manipulated the familiarity of the central letter string by presenting it either in the form of a three-letter word, or as a meaningless string of letters. Behavioural measures showed an overall negative impact of familiarity on task performance, while eye movement measures revealed a more complex pattern of effects, including both interference and facilitation. Critically, the effects of familiarity on problem solving did not interact with the development of solution knowledge prior to response.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:OTU.1807/33987 |
| Date | 11 December 2012 |
| Creators | Ellis, Jessica J. |
| Contributors | Reingold, Eyal M. |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | en_ca |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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