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Thesis
Conceptual change induced by analogical reasoning sparks "Aha!" moments
Master of Science (M.S.), Drexel University
Jun 2021
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17918/00000789
Abstract
Although analogical reasoning has been assumed to involve insight and its associated "aha!" experience, the relationship between these phenomena has never been directly probed empirically. In this study we investigated the relationship between representational change and the "aha!" experience during analogical reasoning. A novel set of verbal analogy stimuli were developed for use as an insight task. On each trial, participants were prompted to describe the concept represented by a verbal analogy in A:B::C:D form both before and after the addition of an additional analogical word pair (E:F). On half of the trials, the additional word pair was conceptually close to the first two (consistent trials), whereas on the other half the additional pair was more abstractly related to the first two (expansive trials). We hypothesized that on expansive trials the third pair would force participants to expand their initial representation of the first two pairs to accommodate it, thereby triggering an aha moment. Across two experiments, participants reported significantly stronger aha moments and showed greater evidence of representational change on expansive relative to consistent analogy trials. Further, the strength of reported aha moments was correlated with the degree to which participants' descriptions of the analogies changed over the course of a trial, providing direct evidence towards the theory that aha experiences accompany changes in mental representation. These findings provide empirical support for the hypothesis that analogical reasoning can involve feelings of insight and suggest that measuring subjective aha strength during analogical reasoning may elucidate previously overlooked patterns of representational change during learning and problem solving.
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Details
- Title
- Conceptual change induced by analogical reasoning sparks "Aha!" moments
- Creators
- Christine B. Chesebrough - Drexel University, Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology)
- Contributors
- John Kounios (Advisor)
- Awarding Institution
- Drexel University
- Degree Awarded
- Master of Science (M.S.)
- Publisher
- Drexel University; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Number of pages
- ix, 55 pages
- Resource Type
- Thesis
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Psychological and Brain Sciences (Psychology); College of Arts and Sciences; Drexel University
- Other Identifier
- 991015273271404721