探討孕育效果產生的條件：注意力去焦假說

Abstract

孕育效果（incubation effect）是指個體思考問題不得其解、暫停解題從事其他活動卻促進問題解決的現象。主流看法認為個體的注意力在孕育期間被分心活動佔據，沒有在意識層次思考待解問題，而孕育效果即是該情境下的產物。反對的看法則認為孕育效果是孕育期間有意識思考問題的成果。本論文指出三個過去文獻的限制或問題：（1）絕大部分研究並未進一步確認個體在孕育期間是否有意識地思考待解問題（亦即意識內容）；（2）未有研究系統性地探討分心活動之認知負荷量的影響，此因素會影響個體在孕育期間思考待解問題可能性；以及（3）過去理論過度簡化個體在孕育期間的認知活動，使得孕育效果的解釋仍有爭議。本論文結合思維取樣技術與孕育效果研究派典，藉由操弄分心活動的認知負荷與檢視個體在孕育期間的意識內容，試圖回應上述三個未解的議題，並提出注意力去焦假說，探討促進孕育效果產生的條件，澄清過去無法穩定發現孕育效果的可能原因。本論文以遠距聯想作業作為問題解決活動，實驗一與三發現相較於高負荷活動或休息，個體在從事低負荷分心活動後能產生最佳的孕育效果。實驗二改以隱式方法測量個體在高、低負荷分心活動後，對於答案字的激發程度是否與無孕育期的對照組不同，結果不支持主流的非意識運作觀點。實驗四以個別差異的角度切入，發現抑制功能強者較弱者更受惠於孕育期的低負荷分心活動。以上發現無法單純以孕育期間的非意識或意識歷程作通盤的解釋。本論文認為在孕育期從事低負荷分心活動，可使個體將部分注意力由待解問題轉移至分心活動，形成去焦注意力狀態，進而降低認知抑制，因此提高不尋常想法產出的機會而促進解題。

The incubation effect refers to the phenomenon that spending time away from an unsolved problem may increase the likelihood of successfully solving the problem, as opposed to working continuously on the problem. Mainstream viewpoints propose the incubation effects are results of non-conscious processes that occur during the incubation period. In contrast, the conscious-work account holds that the beneficial effects are due to covert problem solving during the incubation period. However, the explanation of the incubation effect is still controversial because (1) little research has confirmed whether individuals carry out intermittent conscious work on the unsolved problem during the incubation period; (2) there has been no study that systematically manipulates the cognitive load of the incubation task; (3) previous hypotheses oversimplified individuals’ cognitive process during the incubation period. This research incorporates the thought-sampling technique into the incubation effect paradigm and manipulates the cognitive load of the incubation task to clarify the problems mentioned above. In Experiment 1 and 3, it was found that compared with a high cognitive load task or resting during the incubation period, a low-demanding load task yields a stronger incubation effect. In Experiment 2, by utilizing an implicit measurement, it was not found that the prevention of conscious problem solving results in helpful processes. In Experiment 4, the result clearly shows that, compared with individuals with weaker cognition inhibition, individuals with stronger cognitive inhibition benefit more from the low-demanding task during the incubation period. As a whole, these results do not support either the non-conscious or conscious work account of incubation. An attention defocusing hypothesis is proposed to explain the mechanism of incubation. According to the attention defocusing hypothesis, during the incubation period, low-demanding tasks may occupy part of the individual’s attention thus preventing the focused concentration on the problem. The defocused attention state results in decreasing cognitive inhibition and increases the probability of generating unusual but helpful ideas.