Washington D.C. : Sudden insights are often more accurate at solving problems than thinking them analytically, says a series of experiments conducted by a team of researchers. John Kounios, a team member, said conscious, analytic thinking can sometimes be rushed or sloppy, leading to mistakes while solving a problem. “Insight is unconscious and automatic – it can’t be rushed,” he added.
Experiments with four different types of timed puzzles showed those answers that occurred as sudden insights, also described as Aha! Moments, were more likely to be correct. Moreover, the people who tend to have more of these insights were also more likely to miss the deadline rather than provide an incorrect, but in-time, answer. Those who responded based on analytic thought were more likely to provide an answer by the deadline, though these last-minute answers were often wrong.
This study is published in the journal Thinking and Reason
