Incubation and Activation of the Semantic Network

The issue of incubation is a central and paradoxical topic in the psychology of thinking and creativity. The paradox arises from the observation that problem-solving can advance during periods when the solver is not consciously focused on the problem but is instead engaged in unrelated activities. Despite extensive research on incubation, a unified explanation for this phenomenon remains elusive. This article introduces a new theoretical approach characterized by two distinctive features. First, it advocates for the examination of the general problem of incubation through tasks that facilitate a precise analysis of the underlying processes—specifically, Mednick's triads. Second, to enable a comprehensive analysis of problem-solving processes, this approach incorporates methods from general network theory. Consequently, the theoretical model developed to elucidate incubation encompasses two levels of processes: the propagation of activation across the semantic network and the control processes driven by goal-setting when the individual accepts the problem.