The effects of perceptual hints and task concretisation on insight problem solving and transfer

Two experiments examined whether perceptual hints and task concretisation facilitate solution to insight problems and further contribute to transfer to analogous problems. Experiment 1 explored the effect of perceptual hints pertaining either to a procedural or to a conceptual encoding of the solution to the cheap necklace problem. Solvers and non-solvers were shown a schematic rendition of the solution. Only the conceptual hint led to higher solution rates. Surprisingly, both perceptual hints hindered transfer to an analogous problem. The second experiment examined the effect of task concretisation on a variant and then transfer to the cheap necklace problem. Both solvers and non-solvers were shown the solution and asked to reproduce it. Using real materials led to higher solution rates than using paper and pen. However, both conditions led to successful transfer, suggesting that solution encoding of a source problem could be a determining factor for transfer to a target problem.