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Creative Insight: The Redistribution Theory 91

by one and the same theory. The purpose of a theory of insight then becomes
to account for data from all experiments in which the participants solved one
or more of the designated insight problems. This way of proceeding conjures
a supposed theoretical category – insight problem solving – out of the labels
psychologists assign to certain problems. But there is no reason to believe that
all such solutions come about through similar processes and hence can be sub-
sumed under one and the same theory. The task for a theory of insight cannot
be to account for all experiments in which researchers asked subjects to solve
so-called insight problems but must be defined otherwise.

The Insight Sequence
A successful problem solution is not in and of itself remarkable. If a person
is competent to solve a problem, we do not need a theory to explain why
he solved it. Likewise, a failure to solve a problem is no great mystery if
the person lacked the knowledge or competence necessary for solving it.
For example, we need no psychological theory to explain why nobody is
marketing a time travel machine; engineers do not know how to build one.
The puzzling and interesting feature of creative problem solving is success
following failure.
More precisely, creative thought processes sometimes unfold according to
the following pattern: 11
1. Search. The problem solver explores the problem materials, develops an
understanding of the goal and tries out the options and possibilities that
come to mind right away. His grasp of the problem improves. Progress
appears to be steady.
2. Impasse. The person no longer generates previously unexplored solution
types. If solution attempts are costly in terms of effort or time, problem-
solving activity might cease altogether. If solutions are cheap to generate,
he might continue to re-execute solutions already found unsatisfactory.
Subjectively, the person experiences himself as “stuck,” out of ideas, unable
to think of a new approach; his mind is “blank.” An impasse is warranted if
the person lacks the competence, capacity or knowledge that is necessary
for the solution. Failure is then inevitable.
3. Insight. If the impasse is unwarranted – that is, if the person is, in principle,
capable of solving the problem – and he persists in the effort to solve it, a
new idea might come to mind. Insight is not a deliberate, conscious pro-
cess that a person decides to carry out, but a mental event. Indeed, insight