Getting a grip on insight: real-time and embodied Aha experiences predict correct solutions.
Cognition & Emotion August 1, 2021 Ruben E Laukkonen, Daniel J Ingledew, Hilary J Grimmer et al.
In a preregistered experiment, participants solved problems while squeezing a dynamometer to capture real-time feelings of insight. A strong positive relationship emerged between Aha moments and accuracy for problems requiring implicit processing. The intensity of the insight experience further predicted solution accuracy, and participants unintentionally embodied this intensity by squeezing the dynamometer more tightly, which also predicted accuracy. The authors argue that the dynamometer captures both process and feeling simultaneously, measures Aha moments on a continuum, and shows that the feeling of Aha carries information about an idea's veracity. Findings are discussed in light of a theoretical account where feelings of insight act as a heuristic for selecting ideas from consciousness.