When people solve, or attempt to solve an insight puzzle

Puzzle

A puzzle is a problem or enigma that tests the ingenuity of the solver. In a basic puzzle, one is intended to put together pieces in a logical way in order to come up with the desired solution...

, they experience a common phenomenology, that is, a set of behavioural properties that accompany problem-solving activity (for a useful edited review of insight problems and their phenomenology, see Sternberg & Davidson, 1995). Other kinds of puzzle, such as the Tower of Hanoi

Tower of Hanoi

The Tower of Hanoi or Towers of Hanoi, also called the Tower of Brahma or Towers of Brahma, is a mathematical game or puzzle. It consists of three rods, and a number of disks of different sizes which can slide onto any rod...

, an example of a transformation problem

Transformation problem

In 20th century discussions of Karl Marx's economics the transformation problem is the problem of finding a general rule to transform the "values" of commodities into the "competitive prices" of the marketplace...

, tend not to yield these phenomena. The phenomena may include:

• Impasse: An individual reaches a point where he or she simply appears to run out of ideas of new things to try that might solve a problem.

• Fixation: An individual repeats the same type of solution attempt again and again, even when they see that it does not seem to lead to solution.

• Incubation: A pause or gap between attempts to solve a problem can sometimes appear to aid the finding of a solution, as if one is clearing the mind of faulty ideas.

• The 'Aha' experience: The solutions to some insight problems can seem to appear from nowhere, like a Eureka moment.