Learning through insight

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Under learning through insight or cognitive learning, refers to the acquisition and restructuring knowledge that on use of cognitive skills based (perceive, imagine, etc.).

In this context, insight means recognizing and understanding a situation , grasping the cause-effect relationships, the meaning and significance of a situation. This enables target-oriented behavior and is usually recognizable by a change in the same.

The Learning by Insight is the sudden, complete transition to the solution state (all-or-nothing principle) after some initial trial and error behavior. The behavior resulting from insightful learning is almost flawless.

Six stages of learning through insight

According to the cognitive learning theory of (inter alia) Wolfgang Köhler and Max Wertheimer, there are six phases of learning through insight:

  1. Appearance of the problem: The discrepancy between the actual and the target (goal) creates tension ( motivation ) and thus the search for a solution.
  2. Trial behavior: Trying out known and proven strategies for action. A failure usually leads to a pause in action.
  3. Restructuring: The structure of the situation is newly grasped and cognitively restructured. Trial and error are not carried out in reality, but carried out in deliberation. The advantage over conditioning is that risks can be avoided if you make a mistake.
  4. Insight and solution: ... until the elements (often suddenly) come together to form a meaningful whole ( aha experience ).
  5. Application: Most of the time the action process starts immediately. If successful, it will be retained.
  6. Transfer: The solution found is practiced and can be transferred to similar things via learning transfer.

Dimensions of insight

Learning through insight is described in more detail through three dimensions.

  1. The first dimension is the phenomenal dimension. This focuses on the appearance of an idea for a solution, which suddenly, unexpectedly and surprisingly occurs in the experience. The appearance of the solution therefore usually has an unintended effect on the person solving the problem.
  2. The task dimension is the second dimension. This states that there are differences between insight and non-insight problems. Insight problems are mostly difficult problems for which few possible solutions are available.
  3. The last dimension is the process dimension. Reference is made to the influence of the problem presentation. Because often an insight is only possible by changing the representation of the problem. This optimal representation often only develops in the course of problem processing by testing, possibly incorrect, possible solutions.

Demonstration on great apes

The Gestalt psychologist Wolfgang Köhler illustrated his thesis using various experiments on chimpanzees. Wolfgang Köhler had a particularly intelligent chimpanzee (sultan) on whom he was able to successfully demonstrate the experiments. Later on, the other chimpanzees in the enclosure could perform the same if they were given a hint.

A banana was hung at an unreachable height in the monkey's enclosure. The chimpanzee Sultan first tried to get to the banana by jumping. But without success. Then he sat down and watched his surroundings. There were some boxes in the cage. Suddenly the animal jumped up and placed a box under the banana. But that wasn't enough. He got more boxes and piled them in a tower. So he could reach the banana. In this example, the chimpanzee is going through the first 5 phases of cognitive learning theory.

In similar experiments, instead of boxes, two short sticks, which could be stuck into each other and thus extended, were placed in the enclosure. The chimpanzees were able to successfully apply what they had learned to new situations.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Betsch, Tilmann; Funke, Joachim; Plessner, Henning: Thinking, Judging, Deciding, Problem Solving . Springer-Verlag, Berlin, Heidelberg 2011, ISBN 978-3-642-12473-0 , pp. 163 .