Editing Insight (section)

===Classic methods===
[[File:Nine Dot Problem, DLW.png|thumb|Solution to the Nine-dot problem.<ref name=Nine-dot/>{{page needed|date=February 2018}}]]
Generally, methodological approaches to the study of insight in the laboratory involve presenting participants with problems and puzzles that cannot be solved in a conventional or logical manner.<ref name="Nature of insight" /> Problems of insight commonly fall into three types:<ref name="Nature of insight" />

====Breaking functional fixedness====
[[File:RAT problem, DLW.png|thumb|Example of a RAT problem.]]
The first type of problem forces participants to use objects in a way they are not accustomed to (thus, breaking their [[functional fixedness]]). An example is the "Duncker candle problem",<ref name="Nature of insight" /> in which people are given matches and a box of tacks and asked to find a way to attach a candle to the wall to light the room.<ref name=Duncker>{{cite journal|last1=Duncker|first1=Karl|last2=Lees|first2=Lynne&nbsp;S.|title=On problem-solving|journal=Psychological Monographs|year=1945|volume=58|issue=5|pages=i–113|doi=10.1037/h0093599}}</ref> The solution requires the participants to empty the box of tacks, set the candle inside the box, tack the box to the wall, and light the candle with the matches.

====Spatial ability====
The second type of insight problem requires [[spatial ability]] to solve. An example is the "[[Nine-dot problem]]"<ref name="Nature of insight" /> which requires participants to draw four lines, through nine dots, without picking their pencil up.<ref name=Nine-dot>{{cite book|last=Sloan|first=Sam Loyd |title=Cyclopedia of puzzles |year=2007|publisher=Ishi Press International|location=Bronx, N.Y.|isbn=978-0-923891-78-7}}</ref>{{page needed|date=February 2018}}

====Using verbal ability====
The third and final type of problem requires verbal ability to solve. An example is the [[Remote Associates Test]] (RAT),<ref name= "Nature of insight" /> in which people must think of a word that connects three, seemingly unrelated, words.<ref name=RAT>{{cite journal|last=Mednick|first=Sarnoff|title=The associative basis of the creative process |journal= [[Psychological Review]]| year=1962|volume=69|issue=3|pages=220–232 |doi= 10.1037/h0048850 |pmid= 14472013 |citeseerx= 10.1.1.170.572|s2cid=6702759 }}</ref> RAT are often used in experiments, because they can be solved both with and without insight.<ref name="Kounios & Beeman (2009)">{{cite journal|last1=Kounios|first1=John|last2=Beeman|first2= Mark|title=The Aha! Moment: The Cognitive Neuroscience of Insight|journal=Current Directions in Psychological Science|date=1 August 2009 |volume= 18 |issue= 4 |pages=210–216|doi=10.1111/j.1467-8721.2009.01638.x|citeseerx=10.1.1.521.6014|s2cid=16905317}}</ref>