An examination of the mechanisms of incubation
Abstract
Several hypotheses have been offered to explain the mechanisms involved in
incubation, the phenomenon in which resolution of a problem benefits more from
interruption than continuous solution attempts. The predictions of three hypotheses were
tested by varying the level of attention demanded by an incubation task. It was found
that a task that requires a moderate amount of attention leads to the greatest resolution of
the problem during distraction and incubation intervals. This result supports the
Withdrawal of Attention hypothesis of incubation and is inconsistent with the
predictions of the Incremental Work and Forgetting Fixation hypotheses.
Subject
IncubationCitation
Kohn, Nicholas William (2005). An examination of the mechanisms of incubation. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /4964.