Insight across contexts: Phenomenological differences and the role of meaning in belief change

Insight is commonly studied in laboratory paradigms as a sudden shift in understanding accompanied by characteristic "Aha!" experiences. However, such paradigms may not capture the full phenomenological range of insight as it occurs in naturalistic contexts. This study examined insight experiences across psychedelic, everyday-life, and laboratory settings to characterise context-related differences in insight phenomenology and identify which dimensions predict perceived belief change. Using a within-subject, cross-sectional design, participants reported insight experiences across four contexts: psychedelic experiences, everyday-life insights, Compound Remote Associates problem-solving, and ambiguous image-based tasks. For each context, participants rated insights across multiple phenomenological dimensions. Ordinal mixed-effects models examined context effects and predictors of belief change. Psychedelic insights were rated higher than everyday insights across most dimensions, particularly intensity, meaning, ineffability, and belief change. In contrast, laboratory-based insights received substantially lower ratings, especially for meaning, belief change, and drive. Naturalistic-laboratory differences were largest for dimensions related to personal significance and transformation, particularly meaning and belief change, whereas core "Aha!" features such as confidence and pleasure showed smaller differences. Across naturalistic contexts, perceived meaning was the strongest predictor of belief change, with additional contributions from intensity and ineffability. After accounting for these phenomenological dimensions, context was not independently associated with belief change. These findings suggest that laboratory paradigms capture core features of insight but underrepresent dimensions related to personal meaning and belief updating. They further indicate that insight-related belief change depends less on context itself than on how the insight is experienced.