Insight (from the English. Insight — insight, penetration into the essence) — a kind of learning, an unexpected solution to a problem without an explicit connection with the previous analysis. “Illumination”, when suddenly everything “adds up”, becomes clear.
The term was introduced into Gestalt psychology in 1925 by W. Köhler. Koehler conducted experiments with great apes, who were offered tasks that were solved through the use of various objects. It was found that the monkeys, after a series of unsuccessful trials, stopped active actions and simply looked at the objects around, after which they could quickly find the right solution.
The creative insight of Archimedes, who jumped out of the bath with a cry of «Eureka!», is a classic illustration of insight.
What contributes to insight
Insight comes (or does not come) by itself, but you can create conditions when it will come more often. Insight is facilitated by:
- Stage of preliminary research (accumulation of hypotheses).
- The stage of moving away from direct attempts to solve, moving away from attempts to solve the problem head-on. In this case, there is a search for roundabout ways, unexpected and non-standard options. Upload to the unconscious.
- The resource state of the brain, which is facilitated by a good mood, walking (in general, physical activity) and a very good shower, during which there is a direct massage of the cerebral vessels.
- Moments of stillness. Sharp movements of the head exclude the productivity of mental activity, and at the moments of feeling “I’ll figure it out now”, you need to be in a stationary state: stop and not shake your head.