Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

We examined the effect of verbalization on problem solving using mathematical insight and non-insight problems. A total of 321 participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (verbalization toward self, verbalization toward others or control). A one-minute problem solving phase was followed by a one-minute verbalization phase; afterward, the participants were asked to work on the same problem again for two minutes. Each participant worked on three insight and non-insight problems each. A generalized linear mixed model analysis showed that the solution rate was significantly higher in the verbalization toward others condition than the other two conditions. There was no interaction with the problem type. When examining the effect of verbalization on insight problem solving, the type of insight problem (verbal, spatial or mathematical) and the verbalization addressee (self or others) should be considered.