The Phenomenon of Hint in Problem Solving: A Creativity Psychology Point of View. Part 2. Hint Effects in Complex Cognitive Tasks.

The paper describes experimental studies of hint in problem solving, as well as theoretical approaches to understanding the mechanisms underlying the hint phenomenon. The empirical results revealing the conditions of effective hinting are described with particular attention to the conditions of spontaneous transfer of auxiliary information. The conditions of hint utilization include active search for hints, resemblance between the hint source and the target task, common coding and extraction processes of the task and the hint, the temporal relation between the moments of hint and task presentation, depth of processing of the task and the hint, and reaching an impasse in the course of task solution. Theoretical explanations of the hint effect in complex tasks are discussed, and the differences in hint use associated with individual differences in creativity are analyzed.