Everyone is faced with complex problems and decisions that they must make everyday. There are two ways in which people can go about solving these problems. Problems may be solved analytically, through careful and tedious consideration, or they may be solved insightfully where the solution just pops into their brain. Oftentimes, people are more likely to respond with the solution that they reached analytically and not follow their insightful “gut” solution because they have carefully worked out one solution accounting for all potential variables, but the other just came seemingly out of nowhere. However, according to Dr. Carola Salvi’s talk, she explained how solutions that come via insight are correct 92% of the time and that they are “more correct than analytical solutions.” Nevertheless, insight has its limitations. The nature of insight is random itself and seems out of place, and therefore it is difficult to predict when solutions via insight will occur. According to research done at Drexel University, even “mood may also influence one’s brain state; in their study, a positive mood facilitated insightful solving, while an anxious mood enhanced analytical solving.” Individuals’ state of mind when attempting to find solutions can also play a large role in the very manner in which their brain is going to go about approaching and coming up with a solution to their issue. Inarguably, when an individual is faced with a complex problem and are also put on a deadline to solve this problem, there is a significant amount of pressure that that person is placed under. The very circumstance of having to solve complex problems creates a considerable amount of anxiety for the individuals and consequently the individual may be unable to creatively and insightfully resolve the problem.
The desire to solve a problem via insight is not only because the solution is more likely to be correct, but also because the brain region associated with solving problems via insight is the right hemisphere of the brain. The right hemisphere of the brain is known to be more subjective, thoughtful, and creative, whereas the left side is more detail oriented and calculated. In her talk, Dr. Carola Salvi discussed the prominent role that the right hemisphere of the brain played in insight. The essence of insight as being an “aha” or “eureka moment” directly supports the conclusion that the right hemisphere is being used because it is associated with being more thoughtful and abstruse. It is evident that individuals are more likely to seek solutions and thoughts via insight when given the task of solving certain problems. However, the limitations mentioned above with the effects of the state of mind regarding the likelihood of having an insight are essential to be accounted for when an individual desires to solve a problem insightfully.
Additionally, the research done at Drexel University highlighted the correlation between distant and future planning and insight. It was found that “individuals will form a more abstract mental representation of an event in the distant future than of an event in the near future. Because the near future is relatively proximal to the present, one has a more concrete idea of what to expect of events that occur in this time period. The distant future, on the other hand, requires more imagination.” This relationship between future planning and insight is interesting because it demonstrates that insight is not limited to occurring only when faced with problems, but even planning future events utilizes insight.
Although it is impossible to control the brain function and ensure that a problem is solved either analytically of insightfully, the conditions in which the individuals is in play a significant role on the ability to solve problems via insights.
References:
Truelove-Hill M, Erickson BA, Anderson J, Kossoyan M and Kounios J (2018) A Growth-Curve Analysis of the Effects of Future-Thought Priming on Insight and Analytical Problem-Solving. Front. Psychol. 9:1311. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01311
Kounios, John, and Mark Beeman. “The Aha! Moment: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight.” Current Directions in Psychological Science, vol. 18, no. 4, Aug. 2009, pp. 210–216, doi:10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01638.x.
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