The Incubation Effect: Hatching a Solution?
@article{Ellwood2009TheIE, title={The Incubation Effect: Hatching a Solution?}, author={Sophie Ellwood and Gerry Pallier and Allan Snyder and Jason E. Gallate}, journal={Creativity Research Journal}, year={2009}, volume={21}, pages={14 - 6} }
Numerous anecdotal accounts exist of an incubation period promoting creativity and problem solving. This article examines whether incubation is an empirically verifiable phenomenon and the possible role therein of nonconscious processing. An Idea Generation Test was employed to examine (a) whether an incubation effect occurred and (b) the impact of different types of break on this effect. In the Idea Generation Test, two groups of participants were given a distracting break, during which they…
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