So‐called insight problems are widely studied because they tap into the creative thinking that is crucial for solving real problems. However, insight problems are typically presented in static formats (on paper, computer) that allow no physical interaction with the problem elements, whereas such an interaction might in fact reduce the load on limited cognitive resources, such as working memory (WM) capacity, thereby facilitating solutions. To test this proposition, 124 young adults were allowed to interact physically with nine established insight problems, while another 124 people attempted to solve these problems using paper and pencil. Additionally, hints were provided for three problems that typically no‐one solves. No general facilitating effect of physical interaction was found, with only one problem clearly benefitting from it. Furthermore, making use of hints was actually hindered by physical interaction. No difference in perceived task load and correlation with WM capacity was observed between the formats, and subjective ratings of insight were virtually unaffected by presentation format. Overall, physical interaction minimally affected insight problem‐solving, which appears to rely strongly on internalized cognitive processing involving WM.

中文翻译：

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身体与洞察力问题的互动如何影响解决率，提示使用和认知负担

所谓的洞察力问题得到了广泛的研究，因为它们利用了对解决实际问题至关重要的创造性思维。但是，洞察力问题通常以静态格式（在纸上，计算机上）呈现，不允许与问题元素进行物理交互，而这种交互实际上可能会减轻有限的认知资源（例如工作记忆（WM）容量）的负担，从而促进解决方案。为了验证这一主张，允许124位年轻人与9个已建立的洞察力问题进行身体互动，而另外124人尝试使用纸和笔解决这些问题。此外，还提供了通常无法解决的三个问题的提示。没有发现物理相互作用的一般促进作用，只有一个明显受益的问题。此外，物理交互实际上阻碍了使用提示。两种格式之间未观察到感知的任务负荷以及与WM能力的相关性差异，并且主观的洞察力评级几乎不受演示格式的影响。总体而言，物理交互对洞察力问题解决的影响最小，这似乎很大程度上依赖于涉及WM的内部认知处理。