Danek Amory H, Wiley Jennifer
Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Chicago Chicago, IL, USA.
Front Psychol. 2017 Jan 20;7:2077. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.02077. eCollection 2016.
The subjective Aha! experience that problem solvers often report when they find a solution has been taken as a marker for insight. If Aha! is closely linked to insightful solution processes, then theoretically, an Aha! should only be experienced when the correct solution is found. However, little work has explored whether the Aha! experience can also accompany incorrect solutions ("false insights"). Similarly, although the Aha! experience is not a unitary construct, little work has explored the different dimensions that have been proposed as its constituents. To address these gaps in the literature, 70 participants were presented with a set of difficult problems (37 magic tricks), and rated each of their solutions for Aha! as well as with regard to Suddenness in the emergence of the solution, Certainty of being correct, Surprise, Pleasure, Relief, and Drive. Solution times were also used as predictors for the Aha!
This study reports three main findings: First, false insights exist. Second, the Aha! experience is multidimensional and consists of the key components Pleasure, Suddenness and Certainty. Third, although Aha! experiences for correct and incorrect solutions share these three common dimensions, they are also experienced differently with regard to magnitude and quality, with correct solutions emerging faster, leading to stronger Aha! experiences, and higher ratings of Pleasure, Suddenness, and Certainty. Solution correctness proffered a slightly different emotional coloring to the Aha! experience, with the additional perception of Relief for correct solutions, and Surprise for incorrect ones. These results cast some doubt on the assumption that the occurrence of an Aha! experience can serve as a definitive signal that a true insight has taken place. On the other hand, the quantitative and qualitative differences in the experience of correct and incorrect solutions demonstrate that the Aha! experience is not a mere epiphenomenon. Strong Aha! experiences are clearly, but not exclusively linked to correct solutions.
问题解决者在找到解决方案时经常报告的主观“啊哈！”体验被视为洞察力的标志。如果“啊哈！”与有洞察力的解决过程紧密相连，那么从理论上讲，只有在找到正确解决方案时才会体验到“啊哈！”。然而，很少有研究探讨“啊哈！”体验是否也会伴随着错误的解决方案（“错误的洞察力”）。同样，尽管“啊哈！”体验不是一个单一的概念，但很少有研究探讨作为其组成部分而被提出的不同维度。为了填补文献中的这些空白，向70名参与者呈现了一组难题（37个魔术技巧），并让他们对每个解决方案的“啊哈！”体验以及解决方案出现的突然性、正确性的确定性、惊讶感、愉悦感、解脱感和驱动力进行评分。解决时间也被用作“啊哈！”体验的预测指标。
本研究报告了三个主要发现：第一，存在错误的洞察力。第二，“啊哈！”体验是多维的，由愉悦感、突然性和确定性等关键成分组成。第三，尽管正确和错误解决方案的“啊哈！”体验共享这三个共同维度，但它们在强度和质量方面也有不同的体验，正确的解决方案出现得更快，导致更强烈的“啊哈！”体验，以及更高的愉悦感、突然性和确定性评分。解决方案的正确性为“啊哈！"体验带来了略有不同的情感色彩，正确的解决方案会额外带来解脱感，错误的解决方案则会带来惊讶感。这些结果对“啊哈！”体验的出现可以作为真正洞察力发生的确切信号这一假设提出了一些质疑。另一方面，正确和错误解决方案体验中的定量和定性差异表明，“啊哈！”体验不仅仅是一种附带现象。强烈的“啊哈！”体验显然但并非仅仅与正确的解决方案相关联。
