People shown to have high working memory were less likely to have “aha!” moments, according to a study led by Marci DeCaro at the University of Louisville. While high working memory generally helps with problem-solving by allowing people to avoid distractions, recall relevant information, and complete multiple steps in a complex task, not all problems benefit from it. In a test where participants moved matchsticks around to make sense of nonsensical equations, those with high working memory capacity continued to try multiple incremental approaches for longer, when it would have been better to give up and try reframing the problem or to use lateral, associative thinking.
Source: The Reason Smart People Sometimes Struggle with "Aha" Moments
