Have you ever worked on a problem for hours or days or even weeks, turning it over in your mind until you were ready to give up finding a solution?

But then the answer came to you in a flash, maybe in the shower or while you were taking a walk or doing the dishes.

Many of us are fortunate enough to experience these spurts of insight at least occasionally.

Aha or eureka moments have led to some of humanity's

greatest achievements in science, medicine, mathematics, and art, from classic songs to

life-saving cancer treatments, even to the invention of the slinky. But most of the time these

insights are more prosaic. Maybe a crossword puzzle answer that's eluded you for days comes to

your mind in the shower,

or the perfect title for a paper you're writing pops into your head or you're digging a hole in the garden.

Eureka moments like these are a form of creativity.

They involve coming up with a new idea or a novel solution to a problem.

So how does this type of creative insight differ from more analytical or

methodical thinking? Where in the brain does creative insight happen? Are some people naturally more

creative thinkers than others? And how can you encourage more creativity in yourself and set yourself

up to experience more of these aha moments? Welcome to Speaking of Psychology, the flagship podcast of the American Psychological Association

that examines the links between psychological science and everyday life.

I'm Kim Mills.

Our guest today is Dr. John Cunios, a professor of psychology at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Two decades ago, his work provided some of the first evidence from brain imaging studies

that creative insight is a distinct form of thinking separate from analytical thought.

Since then, he has continued to study what's happening in people's brains during moments of creativity and insight.

He is also author of the book,

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