Does Physical Interaction with Insight Problems Really Affect the Solution Rate?

Insight problems are traditionally presented in verbal or visual form; however, some research suggests that physically interacting with the problem materials may facilitate insight problem solving. In contrast, the more recent literature found no performance improvement with manipulable materials, except for spatial problems (e.g., the “Eight Coins problem”). In Experiment 1, to challenge the hypothesis that the facilitating effect of material manipulation is mainly related to spatial insight problems, two groups of participants were presented with another spatial insight problem, the “Pencil problem” (a new version of the traditional “Match problem”), either in paper format or in a physical interactive condition. The results showed no significant differences in success rates based on presentation format. Therefore, manipulating the materials does not appear to facilitate solving spatial insight problems per se. In accordance with the misunderstanding theory of insight problem solving, the interacting effect may be limited to situations in which manipulation allows individuals to grasp functional aspects that are crucial for restructuring and reaching the solution. To test this hypothesis, we ran a further study (Experiment 2) in which two groups of participants were presented with a “Matchstick Arithmetic problem” in paper format; one group received the standard representation of the task (I = II + II), while the other, a picture of the arithmetic equation with real matchsticks, whose realistic representation indirectly clarified the misunderstanding that caused the ‘problem forming’ and the impasse. There was a significant increase in solutions in the second condition. In this case, the presence of overlapping matchsticks forming the plus operator helps the participants understand that arithmetic symbols, as well as numbers, can be decomposed, thereby overcoming the misunderstanding that lies in the problem’s critical points.