One possible explanation for these findings is that when presented with complicated problems, the mind can often get stuck, finding itself tracing back through certain pathways of thinking again and again. The research team had validated the idea that incubation periods, even those as brief as a few minutes, can significantly boost a person’s creative output. The group given no break but four continuous minutes of work time generated the least possible uses, averaging 6.9 ideas. The group given a break to work on a related task placed second, averaging 7.6 ideas generated. The researchers found that the group given a break to work on an unrelated task (the Myers-Briggs test) generated the most ideas, averaging 9.8 ideas. The research team was then able to compare the creativity that resulted from continuous work, work with an incubation period where a related task was completed, and work with an incubation period where an unrelated task was completed. Regardless of the group, each participant was given the same amount of time (4 minutes) to work on their list of possible uses for a sheet of paper. The final group was interrupted after two minutes, given the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (considered an unrelated task), and then asked to continue working on the original alternate uses test for two more minutes. The second group was interrupted after two minutes and asked to generate synonyms for each word from a given list (considered to be another task that exercised creativity), then given two more minutes to complete the original test. The first group worked on the problem for 4 continuous minutes. The number of original ideas that were generated would serve as a measurement of divergent thinking, an important element of creativity and a significant step toward finding a eureka-worthy insight. In this case, the participants were told to list possible uses for a piece of paper. Each group was tasked with completing an Alternate Uses Test, which asks participants to list as many possible uses for common objects as they can imagine. The researchers divided 90 undergraduate psychology students into three groups. The insights that come after incubation are what feel like we’re tapping into the same idea-generating force that powered Newton and Archimedes.Ī team of researchers led by Sophie Ellwood recently found empirical evidence for power of incubation to boost creative insight. Some people juggle various projects at the same time under the belief that while their conscious mind is focusing on one project, the others are incubating in their unconscious. Many of the most productive creative people intentionally set a project aside and take a physical break from their work believing that this incubation stage is where ideas begin to come together below the threshold of the conscious mind. Incubation is the stage where people briefly step back from their work. While research hasn’t exactly validated the existence of divine muses, it has given us some insight into how eureka moments happen…and how to make them happen more often.Įureka moments feel like flashes of insight because the often come out a period when the mind isn’t focused on the problem, what psychologists call a period of incubation. Long walks or hot showers may be where we think out best ideas come from, but those are hardly available options in the middle of a crowded workday. Like Newton and the apple, or Archimedes and the bathtub (both another type of myth), we’re eager to hear and to share stories about flashes of insight.īut for those who have to be creative on demand, these stories don’t offer much practical advice on how to have a eureka moment of their own. In the modern world, few people still believe in the muses, but we all still love to hear stories of sudden inspiration. In the ancient world, the Greeks believed that all great insights came from one of nine muses, divine sisters who brought inspiration to mere mortals.
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