ABSTRACT
The present study sought to determine whether finding new solutions to problems after changing the initial representation of them (“insightful” solutions), create a set for familiar solutions to similar problems. To this end, problem solvers worked on a number of set problems that required them to repeatedly carry out new moves that were only available after they had changed their initial representation of the problem. The results demonstrated that this manipulation made it harder to solve similar problems having familiar solutions. This effect was especially strong, when the same new move was carried out repeatedly. This might suggest that newly discovered moves are “prioritized” relative to familiar moves. Such a prioritizing might serve to enhance the availability of new solutions to problems.
