- published: 12 Apr 2016
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Insight is the understanding of a specific cause and effect in a specific context. Insight can be used with several related meanings of insight
An insight that manifests itself suddenly, such as understanding how to solve a difficult problem, is sometimes called by the German word Aha-Erlebnis. The term was coined by the German psychologist and theoretical linguist Karl Bühler. It is also known as an epiphany.
In psychology, insight occurs when a solution to a problem presents itself quickly and without warning. The phenomenon had its beginnings with Gestalt Psychology, in the early part of the 19th century, during the search for an alternative to associationism and the associationistic view on learning. Some proposed potential mechanisms for insight include: suddenly seeing the problem in a new way, connecting the problem to another relevant problem/solution pair, releasing past experiences blocking the solution presentation, or seeing the bigger, coherent picture of a problem.
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. Problems of insight commonly fall into three types.