Search

Only problems that cannot be solved without representational changes can be regarded as pure insight problems; others are classified as pseudo-insight problems. Existing studies using neuroimaging have not yet distinguished between pure insight and pseudo-insight problems. This study is the first to investigate the brain mechanism of representational change via the remote associates test. Based on the homonymy of Chinese characters, we developed two sets of Chinese remote associates tests (CRATs). By comparing the brain activity of 30 adults during pure and pseudo-insight problem solving, we analysed the commonality and uniqueness of brain activation while solving these two insight problems. The results show that these two types of insight problem solving share the same brain activation area (i.e., the ventral precuneus and thalamus) and different operating areas. This study enhances our understanding of how representational change generates insight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Remote Associates Test (RAT) is an important measurement of creativity and is well known because it is simple to use and the results are objective. To determine how the RAT would work for native Mandarin speakers, RAT was translated into Chinese in 2004 in a version called the CRAT. However, the construct validity of the CRAT was absent, and correlations with other creativity tasks, such as the Divergent Thinking Test and Creative Tendency Inventory, were not significant. Thus, the validity of the CRAT is limited. To enhance the CRAT, based on the remote association of the Association theory, the present study initiates a new approach to redesign the CRAT by developing a set of remote associate items with low frequency vocabularies and a set of close associate items with high frequency vocabularies, according to the associative hierarchies. By investigating the performance of 49 participants on these remote and close associate items, we determine the passing rate, response time, and the correlations with the Divergent Thinking Test and the insight problems task as well as the validity of the CRAT in the measurement of creativity. We find that the passing rate of remote associate items was lower than that of the close associate items as it took more time to solve remote associate items than close ones. The remote associate items were positively correlated to the Divergent Thinking Test and the insight problems task, but the close associate items were not related to these tasks. The passing rates of remote associate items and close associate items were higher in high creativity groups than low creativity groups. The construct of the present CRAT is strongly correlated with creativity and is now effective for measuring the creativity of Mandarin language speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The results provide information on the criterion-related validity of the three versions of the CRAT. • CCRAT was positively correlated with verbal and graphic divergent-thinking. • CRRAT performance was positively correlated with graphic divergent thinking as well as insight problem solving. • CWRAT performance positively predicted insight problem solving. • The results showed that either three CRATs have similar features and uniqueness. The Remote Associates Test (RAT), a well-known creativity assessment tool, has been widely used because of its ease of implementation and objective scoring. The first Chinese version of the RAT (i.e., Chinese Remote Associates Test, CRAT), was developed in 2004 to assess the creativity of native Mandarin speakers. In addition, three versions of the CRAT have been developed: the Chinese Radical Remote Associates Test (CRRAT), the Chinese Word Remote Associates Test (CWRAT) and the Chinese Compound Remote Associates Test (CCRAT). The lack of empirical studies that illustrate the similarities and differences of the three versions has made it difficult for researchers to choose the most appropriate version for their research. Therefore, this study analyzed the convergent and discriminant validity of the three CRAT versions to distinguish them from each other and identify their distinctive features. Based on the compilation rules of the three versions of the CRAT, this study adopted verbal and graphic divergent-thinking tests and insight problems as criterion-related validity tests. A total of 301 adults participated in the tests. The results showed that the participants' performance on CCRAT alone was positively correlated with their performance in verbal and graphic divergent-thinking tests. In addition, their CRRAT performance was positively correlated with their performance in graphic divergent thinking as well as insight problem solving. Finally, their CWRAT performance positively predicted their insight problem solving. The results of this study showed that although the three CRAT versions have similar features, they also have attributes that are unique to each version. The empirical results provide information on the criterion-related validity of the three versions of the CRAT, which could be used as a reference to help future researchers decide which version is the most appropriate for their research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]