ABSTRACT

Higher working memory capacity (WMC) is associated with better performance on a range of tasks, including solving complex problems. However, an increased ability to focus attention on complex problem-solving approaches can also hinder associative thinking processes. Insight problem solving appears to rely on a combination of these working-memory-demanding and associative processes. As a result, sometimes higher WMC helps and sometimes it hinders insight. This chapter reviews the contradictory literature on working memory and insight, discussing when and how working memory may positively or negatively impact insight. This relationship likely depends on how individual differences and situational factors impact working memory and on the working memory requirements of the specific insight task. To fully support flexible and unconventional thinking, a better understanding of the cognitive processes underlying insight is needed.