Accumulating theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that task-irrelevant mood states have specific effects on insightful and analytical problem solving, but few studies have directly related... Show moreAccumulating theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that task-irrelevant mood states have specific effects on insightful and analytical problem solving, but few studies have directly related those states to these two problem-solving strategies. The present research investigated the impact of pre-existing mood and experimentally induced mood states on solving problems that could be solved analytically or by insight. Results revealed that an induced negative moods, as compared to an induced neutral mood, increases the probability of analytic solutions. In contrast, spontaneous positive moods facilitated problem solving performance regardless of the specific solution strategy. Additionally, the process of generating solutions had a marked effect on subsequent memory recall regardless of recall interval. These findings provide support for the cognitive tuning theory. Show less
The nature of insight has been the interdisciplinary focus of scientific inquiry for over 100 years. Behavioral studies and biographical data suggest that insight, as a form of creative cognition,... Show moreThe nature of insight has been the interdisciplinary focus of scientific inquiry for over 100 years. Behavioral studies and biographical data suggest that insight, as a form of creative cognition, consists of at least four separate but intercorrelated stages as described by Wallas (1926). Yet no quantitative evidence was available for insight- or insight-stage-specific brain mechanisms that generalize across various insight tasks. The present work attempted, for one, to present an integrated and comprehensive description of the neural networks underlying insight and, for another, to identify dynamic brain mechanisms related to the four hypothetical stages of insight. To this end, we performed two quantitative meta-analyses: one for all available studies that used neuroimaging techniques to investigate insight, and the other for the phasic brain activation of insight drawn from task characteristics, using the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach. One key finding was evidence of an integrated network of insight-activated regions, including the right medial frontal gyrus, the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left amygdala and the right hippocampus. Importantly, various brain areas were variably recruited during the four stages. Based on the ALE results, the general and stage-specific neural correlates of insight were determined and potential implications are discussed. Show less
The relationship between risk-taking and creativity is critical to understanding social harmony and innovation. Although some studies have assessed the link between risk-taking and divergent... Show moreThe relationship between risk-taking and creativity is critical to understanding social harmony and innovation. Although some studies have assessed the link between risk-taking and divergent thinking, the association between risk-taking and convergent thinking remains unclear. Two studies were conducted to systemically investigate whether risk-taking is linked to convergent thinking. In Study 1, a sample of 127 healthy participants performed a Chinese remote associate test (RAT) and completed a risk-taking questionnaire. As predicted, risk-taking was negatively correlated with RAT performance, implying that risk-taking has a negative association with convergent thinking. Study 2 was an online survey study that replicated Study 1 and extended the measures to include self-rated risk and a measure of divergent thinking (the alternate uses task). The findings were fully replicated, showing that low risk-taking goes with better convergent thinking and risk-taking was not significantly correlated with divergent thinking. Furthermore, the risk-taking/convergent-thinking relationship was best described by a linear regression model in both studies. Taken together, these results suggest that appropriate reductions in risk-taking can boost convergent thinking. Show less
