ABSTRACT
Transfer in insight problems was found to be achieved with a single encounter of another problem of the same type. A single encounter is sufficient as the obstacles such as unnecessary constraints and inappropriate chunking, of that particular type of problem will be removed successfully. Problem solvers first solve various types of matchstick arithmetic problems presented in two different formats, representing two difficulty levels of constraint relaxation and chunk decomposition. Matchstick problems similar to those utilized in G. Knoblich et al study were used in both of the phases. Problems were presented on a computer screen. Participants were instructed to speak out the solution as soon as they have found it. The results showed that transfer in insight problem solving is not always automatic even when the problem solver has previous experience of encountering the same type of problems. Our data suggest that the experience of actively going through the constraint relaxation and chunk decomposition process.
