Insight problems revisited: The influence of cognitive styles and experience on creative problem solving

Abstract

Abstract The joint influence of cognitive style and prior experience on creative problem solving was examined using the Two‐String and the Hatrack insight problems. The study involved 44 male and 43 female Norwegian students aged 17 to 21 years. In three out of four cases the results supported the hypothesis that there is a joint effect between assimilative and explorative strategy preferences and degree of experience in their influence on performance. Explorers mainly performed better when prior experience was low (high task novelty) and assimilators mainly performed better when prior experience was high (low novelty). However, this pattern was reversed for females on the Hatrack problem. There was also a significant curvilinear relationship between experience and the composite problem‐solving score. Implications for theories on the role of experience in creative problem solving as well as limitations of this study are discussed.