Haugen, Josefine and Prenevost, Mathilde H. and Nilsen, Ida B. R. and Bølstad, Evalill and Pons, Francisco and Reber, Rolf (2025) How children understand aha‐experiences in problem solving. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. ISSN 0261-510X
Full text not available from this repository.Abstract
Two studies explore how 4–8‐year‐old children develop an understanding of aha‐experiences. Study 1 used a scenario approach to investigate children's understanding of the impact that having an insight has on affect. Children (N = 125) rated affect of a story character at different timepoints in problem‐solving scenarios with and without aha‐moments. Study 2 presented children (N = 167) with a story character displaying an aha response and two different stories of problem solving that may have led to the response. Results show that from age 4, children associate aha‐experiences with positive affect. However, age differences were observed for triggers of aha‐experiences. While 4‐5‐year‐olds attributed aha‐experiences to external triggers (the solution), 7–8‐year‐olds attributed them to mental triggers (a new insight). These findings indicate that children's understanding of aha‐experiences develops over time, which aligns with theories of emotional development and theory of mind.