The aha-moment in problem-solving: age effects in gesturing for solving gear problems

Kölling, P.F. (2024) The aha-moment in problem-solving: age effects in gesturing for solving gear problems. Bachelor thesis, Psychology.

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Abstract

This thesis explores the relationship between body movements, age, and the timing of the "aha-moment" in problem-solving. Participants in the hand movements allowed and hand movements constrained conditions were asked to solve six consecutive gear problems that involved predicting the rotation of varying numbers of gears in a horizontal line while thinking aloud. The participants were video recorded to code the problem-solving strategies used and to measure the amount of body movements employing a frame differencing method. The first trial a participant switched to the abstract strategy “parity”, which involved predicting gear movements by checking if the number of gears was odd or even, was conceptualized as the aha-moment. The measured body movements served as a measurement for gesturing. After exclusions, the sample consisted of 24 participants. Hypothesis 1 predicted a significant association between body movements and the timing of the aha-moment was found, which was not supported by the data. However, participants in the hand movements-constrained condition took more trials to reach the aha-moment compared to the hand movements-allowed condition, which was statistically significant. Furthermore, hypothesis 2 predicted that age moderating the relationship between the amount of gestures used and arriving at the aha-moment, but results showed no moderation. Furthermore, we compared the amount of body movements in the period before the aha-moment and the period after the aha-moment. Hypothesis 3 predicted a significant difference in average body movements between the time periods but this notion was not supported by the data. The findings suggest that the presence of hand gestures, rather than the amount in which they are used, affects the timing of the aha-moment. The major limitation of this study was the small sample and narrow age range which were insufficient to study age effects.

Item Type:	Thesis (Bachelor)
Supervisor name:	Jonge-Hoekstra, L. de
Degree programme:	Psychology
Differentiation route:	None [Bachelor Psychology]
Date Deposited:	22 Apr 2024 14:51
Last Modified:	22 Apr 2024 14:51
URI:	http://gmwpublic.studenttheses.ub.rug.nl/id/eprint/3313

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