Prenevost, Mathilde H. and Reber, Rolf (2024) The Aha Moment. In: The Routledge International Handbook of Changes in Human Perceptions and Behaviors :. Routledge. ISBN 9781003316602
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
The chapter discusses changes related to the aha moment, which is defined as a sudden insight, accompanied by a sense of ease, positive affect, and subjective certainty. We present research and theory from psychology and neuroscience. At least four types of changes can be identified. First, there is a cognitive change in understanding, an insight, often described as mental restructuring. Second, there is an affective change, which consists of a series of epistemic feelings that accompany insight. Both experimental and correlational research illuminate the role of epistemic feelings in aha moments. Third, after an aha moment, there is a positive motivational change, as documented in experimental and descriptive studies. Finally, such motivational changes may help explain developmental change, as aha moments could be a long sought-after answer to the question of what motivates cognitive development. The chapter elaborates these four types of change.