Does thinking about coronavirus impact insight and analytical reasoning?

Stress and threats have been shown to influence our cognition and performance. In a preregistered online experiment (N = 446), we examined whether thinking about the ongoing covid-19 pandemic influences creative (insight problem solving) and analytic thinking. We found no support for our a-priori hypothesized effect (decrease in insight problem solving and no change in analytical thinking), however, several unpredicted results emerged. Exploratory analyses revealed that both types of thinking were harmed, yet only in men. Interestingly, the effect of exposure on thinking about covid-19 was indirect and led to careless task completion – again, only in men. We discuss these intriguing results and propose potential explanations along with future studies directions.