DANCEST 805 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Spreading Activation, Meta-Analysis, Knowledge Network
Document Summary
Incubation period= temporary shift away from an unsolved problem that allows a solution to emerge seemingly as if from no additional effort. Some studies researching this effect have found strong effects, others have found no such thing. One reason for studying incubation effect is that it is closely associated w/ insightful thinking. Insight might be characterized as a sudden, unpredictable and non-verbalizable solution discovery. The apparent unconscious nature of this is seen as evidence that the processes required to achieve insight are qualitatively different from those used to tackle problems that don"t require insight. Several hypotheses have been introduced to account for the alleged positive effect on an incubation period on problem-solving: Conscious-work hypothesis; incubation effects are due to: reduced mental fatigue, additional covert problem-solving. Unconscious-work hypothesis; positive incubation effects are the result of gradual unconscious problem-solving processes that occur during this period.
