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Exploring the effects of self-generated and induced insight on incidental memory and pupil dilation

Poster Session B - Sunday, March 8, 2026, 8:00 – 10:00 am PDT, Fairview/Kitsilano Ballroom

Linda He¹ (), Michael L. Mack¹; ¹University of Toronto

Previous research has established that the ‘Aha!’ experience associated with insights bestows a memory advantage (IMA). One proposal is that these benefits stem from hippocampally mediated prediction error, which accompanies the spontaneous generation of insight. This may be supported by psychophysiological evidence, as insight has been associated with pupillary dilation, which also correlates with prediction error. Yet, in contrast with the prediction error proposal, a recent study indicates that incidental memory enhancements from spontaneous insights are equal to that of low-prediction error ‘induced insights’ (whereby solutions are presented at an expected time). This raises the question: how important is prediction error for the IMA? To address this, we investigate the effect of the IMA with varying degrees of expectation (expected induced insights, unexpected induced insights, spontaneous insights) on incidental memory and pupil dilation. With compound remote associates as insight problems, undergraduate students will spontaneously generate insight on some trials (higher prediction error), and on other trials will be shown solutions at expected (lower prediction error) or unexpected times (higher prediction error). Following induced or spontaneous insights, participants will incidentally encode images of household objects. Pupil size will be measured prior to solution generation and after solution presentation as a potential indicator of prediction error. After encoding, the Mnemonic Similarity Task, an object recognition task investigating the presence of detailed memory, will be administered for the previously encoded images. Using behavioral and pupillometric methods, this study re-examines the role of prediction error on the IMA with sensitive memory measures.

Topic Area: THINKING: Problem solving