Incubation

Anecdotal accounts by eminent creators have led to the idea that setting a creative problem aside during an incubation period may help the creator solve it. Originally, the term “incubation” referred to the theory that unconscious processes may be at work, but several other explanations have subsequently been proposed. Empirical evidence supports the existence of several problem-specific types of incubation effects. There is no converging evidence for any singular theory, but there is support for problem-specific incubation effects caused by different mechanisms, such as mind wandering, opportunistic encounters with facilitating cues, and the forgetting of fixating elements.