Stumped by a crossword puzzle? Try taking a break to watch a funny TV show. Recent research shows that people in a lighthearted mood more often have eureka moments of sudden inspiration.

Karuna Subramaniam, then at Northwestern University, and her colleagues found that boosting the mood of volunteers increased their likelihood of having an aha! moment that helped solve a word associa­­tion puzzle. Those who watched a Robin Williams comedy special did measurably better at the task using insight than those who watched a quantum electronics talk or a scary movie. The games, in which players must find a word that connects three seemingly unrelated words, have been used for decades to demonstrate creative problem solving.

In the brain, sudden insight is accompanied by increased activity in the brain’s anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) prior to solving each prob­lem. The region is involved in regulating attention; in problem solving, it seems to work in con­junction with other brain areas either to stay focused on a par­ticular strategy or to switch to a new one. Subramaniam found with functional MRI that people in a positive mood had more ACC activity going in to the task, which probably helped prepare the brain to find novel solutions. Participants who watched anx­iety-producing movies such as The Shining, however, showed less activity in the ACC and less creativity in solving the puzzles. [For more on creativity in the brain, turn to “The Unleashed Mind.”]

This article was originally published with the title Laughter Leads to Insight.

2 Comments

1. 1. rgcorrgk 10:58 PM 6/7/11

   • With regard to outcome, this "research" is altogether predictable and expected. One should expect most (if not all) “lighthearted mood” inducing environments to increase the “an aha! Moment”; and, most (if not all) “anxiety” inducing environments to decrease the “an aha! Moment”. The Shining will put you in near fight or flight, hardly a headspace conducive to finding novel solutions (though “a quantum electronics talk” seems a bit less scary, but, then again with the dumbing down of education these days your student subjects may well develop some quantum angst).
   • Humor and problem solving share cognitive elements, both can have the “an aha! Moment”. When one “gets” the joke a similar mental process is in play. Etc.
   • R. Carlson
   

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2. 2. Raghuvanshi1 11:03 PM 6/7/11

   You can create this position everyday.Laugh or pure joy mostly depend on your attitude how you look the situation and how you handle that situation.

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