The Nature of Insight (Bradford Books) [Paperback]

Robert J. Sternberg (Editor), Janet E. Davidson (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 1996 | Series: Bradford Books

The Nature of Insight brings together diverse perspectives, including recent theories and discoveries, to examine the nature and origins of insightful thinking, as well as the history of theory and research on the topic and the methods used to study it. There are chapters by the leading experts in this field, including Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Ronald Finke, Howard Gruber, Marcel Just, David Meyer, David Perkins, Dean Simonton, and Robert Weisberg, among others.

The Nature of Insight is divided into five main parts. Following an introduction that reviews the history and methods of the field, part II looks at how people solve challenging puzzles whose answers cannot be obtained through ordinary means. Part III focuses on how people come up with ideas for new inventions, while part IV explores the thinking of some of the most insightful people in the history of civilization. Part V considers metaphors such as evolution and investment as bases for understanding insight. An epilogue integrates all these approaches.

Contributors: R. E. Mayer. R. L. Dominowski and P. Dallob. C. M. Seifert, D. E. Meyer, N. Davidson, A. J. Patalano, and I. Yaniv. J. E. Davidson. R. W. Weisberg. M. L. Gick and R. S. Lockhart. S. M. Smith. R. A. Finke. M. I. Isaak and M. A. Just. M. Csikszentmihalyi and K. Sawyer. K. Dunbar. H. E. Gruber. M. F. Ippolito and R. D. Tweney. D. K. Simonton. D. N. Perkins. R. J. Sternberg and T. I. Lubart.

A Bradford Book

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Robert J. Sternberg is IBM Professor of Psychology and Education at Yale. Janet E. Davidson is Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at Lewis and Clark College.

Product Details

• Paperback: 618 pages
• Publisher: The MIT Press (September 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0262691876
• ISBN-13: 978-0262691871
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,253,374 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Nature of Insight, July 7, 2000

By 

Vana Prewitt (Chapel Hill, NC USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nature of Insight (Bradford Books) (Paperback)

This is a scholarly book edited and written by leading researchers in the area of human development. It includes contributions from several respected scholars on insight that are very thought provoking. It isn't a book that will deliver answers as much as promote more questions.

My purpose for reading this book was to look at several different ways of explaining insight....what is it? How does it work? Where does it come from? Can it be taught or is it something we are born with? Is it tied to intelligence or is it an independent variable? This book helped me gain all of that and much more.

The authors provide theories about insight that are well grounded in empirical research, including ties to organization development and social insight, where my interest lies. As an extra bonus, there were several pages of visual puzzles that can be used to test and promote the development of insight, that I will try using in my research.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Challenging but worthwile read., January 4, 2009

By 

Matthew Milan (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nature of Insight (Bradford Books) (Paperback)

This is not a book for the faint of heart. It's wordy, academic and scattered; the structure of the content seems to be an afterthought. That being said, if you're really looking for a deep and rigorous dive into the topic of how people generate insight, this is the book. It's incredibly rich in terms of information, and a welcome change from the low-grade crap that other books offer when they touch on this underexplored subject. Well worth the price, but don't expect to finish this on an airplane flight. For serious students of insight only!

0 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Du not bi, February 18, 2008

By 

N. Schuetz "Book Killaz" (Kyladawgsonville) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Nature of Insight (Hardcover)

This books got nothin 4 u 2 lurn. If u want 2 get more studeis for your money check out some newr books, cuz this ones 2 old and nuer studys hav come out sinse.

T-Ron.