The Candle Problem is an experiment which demonstrates how time pressure and rewards can diminish people’s ability to solve creativity-requiring problems. People who weren’t offered rewards for solving a clever problem solved the problem faster than those who were offered even significant rewards. Another finding was that when the problem was simplified and the creativity requirement removed, the participants who were offered rewards performed the task much faster.
There are multiple theories that try to explain the result of this study, and the many other studies with similar results. One theory which is still developing, but which seems obvious when studying neuroscience of the brain (summarized here in very broad strokes): Currently it is thought that the left hemisphere of the brain is the more dominating one and capable of suppressing the right hemisphere. Additionally, the right hemisphere is the one associated with creating new, or ‘creative’, connections from known information. The evolutionary perspective is that the left hemisphere operates in a more immediate, focused mode of thinking, while the right hemisphere interprets the world in a larger context. A practical example of this is how birds prefer to use their left hemisphere to focus on searching food, and the right hemisphere to maintain an alertness of their surroundings. The left hemisphere is the preferred one for handling trained, familiar tasks, while the right hemisphere is more active when dealing with the unfamiliar.
With the added context of studies that indicate much higher activity in the right hemisphere when solving insight (a-ha! moment) requiring problems, and studies that show the right hemisphere is more active in relaxed states, it seems quite likely that when a reward is offered and pressure is put on the participants in the Candle Study, the left hemisphere is chosen as the processor for solving the issue at hand. Meanwhile if there is no direct pressure or reward, the right hemisphere is more active in contributing to the solving process.
The Candle Problem is an experiment which demonstrates how time pressure and rewards can diminish people’s ability to solve creativity-requiring problems. People who weren’t offered rewards for solving a clever problem solved the problem faster than those who were offered even significant rewards. Another finding was that when the problem was simplified and the creativity requirement removed, the participants who were offered rewards performed the task much faster.
There are multiple theories that try to explain the result of this study, and the many other studies with similar results. One theory which is still developing, but which seems obvious when studying neuroscience of the brain (summarized here in very broad strokes): Currently it is thought that the left hemisphere of the brain is the more dominating one and capable of suppressing the right hemisphere. Additionally, the right hemisphere is the one associated with creating new, or ‘creative’, connections from known information. The evolutionary perspective is that the left hemisphere operates in a more immediate, focused mode of thinking, while the right hemisphere interprets the world in a larger context. A practical example of this is how birds prefer to use their left hemisphere to focus on searching food, and the right hemisphere to maintain an alertness of their surroundings. The left hemisphere is the preferred one for handling trained, familiar tasks, while the right hemisphere is more active when dealing with the unfamiliar.
With the added context of studies that indicate much higher activity in the right hemisphere when solving insight (a-ha! moment) requiring problems, and studies that show the right hemisphere is more active in relaxed states, it seems quite likely that when a reward is offered and pressure is put on the participants in the Candle Study, the left hemisphere is chosen as the processor for solving the issue at hand. Meanwhile if there is no direct pressure or reward, the right hemisphere is more active in contributing to the solving process.