Possibly on more than one occasion we have been thinking deeply about a situation or problem to which we could not find a solution, generally spending a long time trying to find the solution without success, and suddenly it has come to our mind suddenly (sometimes This solution being much simpler and simpler than the entire process we were carrying out). This situation is not rare, existing in all of us and even in other animal species.
The phenomenon in question, much more important than it seems at first glance, is called insight. And it is about this topic that we are going to talk about throughout this article.
The concept of insight is something complex on a theoretical level, although in practice all of us have at some point experienced a situation in which we have used it. Insight is considered to be that capacity or faculty through which we can become aware of a situation, connecting the situation we are experiencing or thinking about a solution or its understanding. This experience or phenomenon is corresponds to the idea of realizing something, appearing a sudden understanding experienced as a kind of revelation after having been (usually) trying to understand or solve the situation in question.
This understanding appears suddenly, being the product of an unconscious activity that suddenly reaches consciousness and involves the appearance of a solution, the generation of strategies to reach it or the different and new vision of the situation or problem compared to the immediately previous perspective, obtaining a global vision of the situation. The sensation would be similar to suddenly finding a way to connect all the pieces of a puzzle.
Insight presupposes the existence of a certain cognitive capacity, since it requires realizing what we previously knew and what we have carried out, as well as the ability to generate a mental representation of the situation. It also requires the ability to observe and understand the fundamentals of the situation and the ability to establish associations and strategies. This may make you think that it is something human but the truth is that has been observed in other animal species being especially known in the case of chimpanzees.
Phases of insight
Although insight is conceived as the generally sudden experiencing of awareness of a situation, methodology or way to solve a problem, the truth is that various authors propose the existence of several identifiable phases through which we can see its performance. In this sense we can distinguish between the following.
1. Mental impasse
This first stage phase refers to a situation or problem to which the person is not able to respond or is not able to identify, being in a situation of blockage in relation to overcoming it.
2. Restructuring of the problem
Process through which an attempt is made to solve the problem, which begins in the impasse and in the fruitless attempts to represent and resolve it and goes through modification and work to vary the conception or interpretation of the situation in order to resolve it. In it, various resources and cognitive skills are used.
3. Acquisition of deep understanding
This phase is where deep knowledge and understanding of the situation appears. It is an understanding that appears unconsciously, not being a direct product of the cognitive process that was being followed until now.
The last phase of insight would be the conscious perception by the person of understanding as something sudden and that appears clearly in consciousness, this being something sudden and unexpected. This moment is experienced with surprise given that there have been no stimulations or elements that allow us to predict or directly explain the reason for the advent of this sudden understanding.
5. Insight learning
One of the contexts in which insight is most evident and one of the points in which it was first identified in other species is that of learning, specifically that necessary to solve problems. In this sense Wolfgang Köhler described the existence of this ability even in monkeys through various experiments in which the apes had to find the solution to a problem.
The acquisition of new repertoires of behavior and knowledge suddenly after achieving a global understanding of the situation is called insight learning. This phenomenon is tremendously adaptive for us, and is also linked to creativity since it allows us to generate new problem-solving strategies, previously non-existent.
Applied in psychopathology
Talking about insight implies realizing something. And although we generally tend to think about the existence of insight in small details or in the resolution of a concrete and practical problem, this concept is also applicable to other situations or areas.
One of them, especially relevant, It has to do with mental health. And it is common for clinicians to talk about the capacity for insight in relation to realizing the state of their mental faculties or their cognitive, behavioral or emotional state. This aspect is very useful when treating any mental or brain disorder or disease, since it allows one to self-observe the existence of difficulties and identify the need to be treated.
The capacity for insight can be altered in many situations, with those affected not being aware that they have difficulties (to the point that a subject may not realize that they have gone blind, or, for example, in cases of dementia, that they have problems). memory or other faculties) or symptoms such as agitation and altered mood, hallucinations or delusions. And we do not necessarily have to be talking about psychopathology, since the capacity for insight can be altered by the experience of traumatic situations persistent strong emotions or various concerns that prevent one from being aware of the existence of problems or one’s needs.
In cases where there is a lack, deficit or absence of insight, it is necessary to work on this awareness of the situation, given that allows the existence of mental flexibility and autonomy and that is evaluated, for example, to show the need for help or a specific treatment (for example, by allowing us to see that hallucinations or delusions are self-generated content and not real stimuli, or the need for treatment).
