1
|
Zhao Y, Guo J, Li Y, Wu Y, Luo J. ERP evidence for temporal differences between cross-modal and cross-domain analogical reasoning. Behav Brain Res 2024; 470:115072. [PMID: 38815697 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.115072] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2024] [Revised: 05/24/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown that individuals not only successfully engage in cross-domain analogies but also accomplish cross-modal reasoning. Yet, the behavioral representation and neurophysiological basis of cross-modal and cross-domain analogical reasoning remain unclear. This study established three analogical reasoning conditions by combining a multi-to-multi learning-test paradigm with a four‑term analogy paradigm: within-domain, cross-domain, and cross-modal conditions. Thirty participants were required to judge whether the relationship between C and D was the same as the learned relationship between A and B. Behavioral results revealed no significant differences in reaction times and accuracy between cross-domain and cross-modal conditions, but both conditions showed significantly lower accuracy than within-domain condition. ERP results indicated a larger P2 amplitude in the cross-modal condition, while a larger N400 amplitude was observed in the cross-domain condition. These findings suggest: (1) The P2 in cross-modal analogical reasoning is associated with more difficult access to cross-modal information. (2) The N400 in cross-domain analogical reasoning is related to more challenging semantic processing. This study provides the first evidence of behavioral and ERP differences between cross-modal and cross-domain analogical reasoning, deepening our understanding of the cognitive processes involved in cross-modal analogical reasoning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yanqun Zhao
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Jiajia Guo
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China
| | - Yangzhuo Li
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
| | - Yuedong Wu
- Lab for Educational Big Data and Policymaking, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
| | - Junlong Luo
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China; Lab for Educational Big Data and Policymaking, Ministry of Education, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai 200234, China.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Daker RJ, Viskontas IV, Porter GF, Colaizzi GA, Lyons IM, Green AE. Investigating links between creativity anxiety, creative performance, and state-level anxiety and effort during creative thinking. Sci Rep 2023; 13:17095. [PMID: 37816728 PMCID: PMC10564955 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-39188-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying ways to enable people to reach their creative potential is a core goal of creativity research with implications for education and professional attainment. Recently, we identified a potential barrier to creative achievement: creativity anxiety (i.e., anxiety specific to creative thinking). Initial work found that creativity anxiety is associated with fewer real-world creative achievements. However, the more proximal impacts of creativity anxiety remain unexplored. In particular, understanding how to overcome creativity anxiety requires understanding how creativity anxiety may or may not impact creative cognitive performance, and how it may relate to state-level anxiety and effort while completing creative tasks. The present study sought to address this gap by measuring creativity anxiety alongside several measures of creative performance, while concurrently surveying state-level anxiety and effort. Results indicated that creativity anxiety was, indeed, predictive of poor creative performance, but only on some of the tasks included. We also found that creativity anxiety predicted both state anxiety and effort during creative performance. Interestingly, state anxiety and effort did not explain the associations between creativity anxiety and creative performance. Together, this work suggests that creativity anxiety can often be overcome in the performance of creative tasks, but likewise points to increased state anxiety and effort as factors that may make creative performance and achievement fragile in more demanding real-world contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Daker
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA.
| | - Indre V Viskontas
- Department of Psychology, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, USA
| | - Grace F Porter
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA
| | | | - Ian M Lyons
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA
| | - Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Lebuda I, Benedek M. A systematic framework of creative metacognition. Phys Life Rev 2023; 46:161-181. [PMID: 37478624 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2023] [Indexed: 07/23/2023]
Abstract
Creative cognition does not just involve cognitive processes in direct service of the main task objective (e.g., idea generation), but also metacognitive processes that monitor and regulate cognition adaptively (e.g., evaluation of ideas and task performance, or development and selection of task strategies). Although metacognition is vital for creative performance, relevant work is sparse, which may be partly due to persistent ambiguities in the theoretical conceptualization of creative metacognition. Therefore, this article proposes a systematic framework of creative metacognition (CMC), which builds on recent advancements in metacognition theory and extends them to meet the specifics of creative cognition. The CMC framework consists of two dynamic components-monitoring and control-and a more static component of metacognitive knowledge, each subsuming metacognitive processes applying to the level of task, performance, and responses. We describe the presumed function of these metacognitive components in the creative process, present evidence in support of each, and discuss their association with related constructs, such as creative self-beliefs. We further highlight the dynamic interplay of metacognitive processes across task performance and identify promising avenues for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Izabela Lebuda
- University of Graz, Austria; University of Wrocław, Poland.
| | | |
Collapse
|
4
|
Chesebrough C, Chrysikou EG, Holyoak KJ, Zhang F, Kounios J. Conceptual Change Induced by Analogical Reasoning Sparks Aha Moments. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2023. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2023.2188361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2023]
|
5
|
Zhan Z, Yao X, Li T. Effects of association interventions on students' creative thinking, aptitude, empathy, and design scheme in a STEAM course: considering remote and close association. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF TECHNOLOGY AND DESIGN EDUCATION 2022; 33:1-23. [PMID: 36531976 PMCID: PMC9743117 DOI: 10.1007/s10798-022-09801-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/02/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
One of the primary goals of STEAM education is to equip students with the capability of creativity to solve problems. Creativity is believed to be closely related to the ability of making remote associations and combining unrelated concepts. This article explored the effects of three kinds of association interventions (i.e., remote association, close association, free association) on students' creative thinking, creative aptitude, empathy, and design scheme. A total of 94 middle school students participated in the study and were assigned to three groups: the experiment group 1 (n = 30) used remote association and experiment group 2 (n = 32) used close association, the control group (n = 32) used free association (brainstorming) to complete the STEAM integration design projects respectively. Creative Thinking Test, Williams Creativity Aptitude Test (WCAT), Basic Empathy Scale (BES), design ideas, and interviews of students become source data for analysis. Results indicated that both remote and close association were effective strategies in promoting creativity in the STEAM course. However, students in the remote association group achieved a significantly higher degree of creative thinking. While students in the close association group significantly outperformed the remote association group on creativity aptitude and quality of design ideas. No significant difference was found among the three association conditions in students' degree of empathy. The findings highlight the different effects of remote and close association for creativity cultivation in STEAM education.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Zehui Zhan
- School of Information Technology in Education, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, P.R. of China
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, 510631 Guangzhou, P.R. of China
| | - Xiao Yao
- School of Information Technology in Education, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, P.R. of China
- Shenzhen Fuyuan School, 510970 Shenzhen, P.R. of China
| | - Tingting Li
- School of Information Technology in Education, South China Normal University, 510631 Guangzhou, P.R. of China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Du X, Sun P. Generating distant analogies facilitates relational integration: Intermediary role of relational mindset and cognitive load. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1012081. [PMID: 36176804 PMCID: PMC9514117 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1012081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 08/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Relational integration is essential for learning, working, and living, as we must encode enormous volumes of information and extract their relations to construct knowledge about the environment. Recent research hints that generating distant analogies can temporarily facilitate learners’ state-based relational integration. This study aimed to investigate the internal mechanism underlying the facilitation effect and preliminarily confirm its application in education. First, we adopted the classical n-term premise integration task (Experiment 1a) and the Latin Square Task (Experiment 1b) to explore the robustness of the facilitation effect. Then we employed an emerging multidimensional relational reasoning task to further explore the internal mechanism underlying this facilitation effect (Experiment 2). Finally, we verified the practical role of the facilitation effect in learning the interaction concept in statistics (Experiment 3). The results showed that generating distant analogies did facilitate students’ relational integration performance, both in classical cognitive tasks and in a practical learning task, and a relational mindset and cognitive load play an intermediary role in the facilitation, supporting the cognitive load theory. The results suggest that generating distant analogies can be a useful warm-up activity to assist educators in promoting students’ relational integration.
Collapse
|
7
|
Yang W, Green AE, Chen Q, Kenett YN, Sun J, Wei D, Qiu J. Creative problem solving in knowledge-rich contexts. Trends Cogn Sci 2022; 26:849-859. [PMID: 35868956 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.06.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2021] [Revised: 06/13/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Creative problem solving (CPS) in real-world contexts often relies on reorganization of existing knowledge to serve new, problem-relevant functions. However, classic creativity paradigms that minimize knowledge content are generally used to investigate creativity, including CPS. We argue that CPS research should expand consideration of knowledge-rich problem contexts, both in novices and experts within specific domains. In particular, paradigms focusing on creative analogical transfer of knowledge may reflect CPS skills that are applicable to real-world problem solving. Such paradigms have begun to provide process-level insights into cognitive and neural characteristics of knowledge-rich CPS and point to multiple avenues for fruitfully expanding inquiry into the role of crystalized knowledge in creativity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wenjing Yang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology and Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Qunlin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Yoed N Kenett
- Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel
| | - Jiangzhou Sun
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Dongtao Wei
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Jiang Qiu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing 400715, China; Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University (SWU), Chongqing, 400715, China.
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Zbainos D, Sagia C. Dynamic Assessment of Creativity for Diagnostic Purposes. EUROPEAN PSYCHOLOGIST 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/1016-9040/a000476] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. The present paper aims to propose the dynamic assessment of creativity for diagnostic purposes, which combines the sociocultural approach to creativity with the findings of creative cognition research. A traditional theorization viewed creativity mainly as an ability of individuals and its expression depending on the extent to which their environment allows and supports it. According to the individualistic approach of creativity, static testing has been its predominant psychological assessment. However, the traditional approach to creativity has been criticized from a sociocultural theoretical perspective that regards creativity as distributed cognition between the mind and culture in recent years. Based on sociocultural theory, dynamic assessment of creativity is an alternative process to static testing for assessing creative potential. Besides testing, in dynamic assessment, the cognitive strategies of creativity that creative cognition research has revealed are mediated in children as symbolic tools or signs. Therefore, in dynamic assessment, sociocultural theory is combined with creative cognition. In the present paper, initially, we present the relevant theory and research on dynamic assessment and creative cognition. Next, studies applying dynamic assessment to children of different ages and devising the mediation protocol will be discussed. Finally, we will consider the psychological and educational implications of dynamic assessment of children’s creativity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios Zbainos
- Department of Economics and Sustainable Development, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
- School of Education, University of Nicosia, Cyprus
| | - Charis Sagia
- Department of Economics and Sustainable Development, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Weinberger AB, Gallagher NM, Colaizzi G, Liu N, Parrott N, Fearon E, Shaikh N, Green AE. Analogical mapping across sensory modalities and evidence for a general analogy factor. Cognition 2022; 223:105029. [PMID: 35091260 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2022.105029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Revised: 12/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Analogy is a central component of human cognition. Analogical "mapping" of similarities between pieces of information present in our experiences supports cognitive and social development, classroom learning, and creative insights and innovation. To date, analogical mapping has primarily been studied within separate modalities of information (e.g., verbal analogies between words, visuo-spatial analogies between objects). However, human experience, in development and adulthood, includes highly variegated information (e.g., words, sounds, objects) received via multiple sensory and information-processing pathways (e.g., visual vs. auditory pathways). Whereas cross-modal correspondences (e.g., between pitch and height) have been observed, the correspondences were between individual items, rather than between relations. Thus, analogical mapping (characterized by second-order relations between relations) has not been directly tested as a basis for cross-modal correspondence. Here, we devised novel cross-modality analogical stimuli (lines-to-sounds, lines-to-words, words-to-sounds) that explicated second-order comparisons between relations. In four samples across three studies-participants demonstrated well-above-chance identification of cross-modal second-order relations, providing robust evidence of analogy across modalities. Further, performance across all analogy types was explained by a single factor, indicating a modality-general analogical ability (i.e., an "analo-g" factor). Analo-g explained performance over-and-above fluid intelligence as well as verbal and spatial abilities, though a stronger relationship to verbal than visuo-spatial ability emerged, consistent with verbal/semantic contributions to analogy. The present data suggests novel questions about our ability to find/learn second-order relations among the diverse information sources that populate human experience, and about cross-modal human and AI analogical mapping in developmental, educational, and creative contexts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam B Weinberger
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, USA; Penn Center for Neuroaesthetics, University of Pennsylvania, USA.
| | - Natalie M Gallagher
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, USA; Department of Psychology, Princeton University, USA
| | | | - Nathaniel Liu
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, USA
| | | | - Edward Fearon
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, USA
| | | | - Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Differential effects of semantic distance, distractor salience, and relations in verbal analogy. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:1480-1491. [PMID: 35132581 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02062-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Prior studies of A:B::C:D verbal analogies have identified several factors that affect performance, including the semantic similarity between source and target domains (semantic distance), the semantic association between the C-term and incorrect answers (distracter salience), and the type of relations between word pairs. However, it is unclear how these stimulus properties affect performance when utilized together. To test their interactive effects, we created a verbal analogy stimulus set that factorially crossed these factors and presented participants with an analogical stem (A:B::C:?) with two response choices: an analogically correct (D) and incorrect distracter (D') term. The semantic distance between source and target word pairs was manipulated creating near (BOWL:DISH::SPOON:SILVERWARE) and far (WRENCH:TOOL::SAD:MOOD) analogies. The salience of an incorrect distracter (D') was manipulated using the sematic distance with the C-term creating low (DRAWER) and high (FORK) salience distracters. Causal, compositional, and categorical relations were presented across these conditions. Accuracies were higher for semantically near than far analogies and when distracter salience was low than high. Categorical relations yielded better performance than the causal and compositional relations. Moreover, a three-way interaction demonstrated that the effects of semantic distance and distracter salience had a greater impact on performance for compositional and causal relations than for the categorical ones. We theorize that causal and compositional analogies, given their less semantically constrained responses, require more inhibitory control than more constraining relations (e.g., categorical).
Collapse
|
11
|
Dumas DG, Dong Y, Leveling M. The zone of proximal creativity: What dynamic assessment of divergent thinking reveals about students’ latent class membership. CONTEMPORARY EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cedpsych.2021.102013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
|
12
|
Cortes RA, Weinberger AB, Colaizzi GA, Porter GF, Dyke EL, Keaton HO, Walker DL, Green AE. What Makes Mental Modeling Difficult? Normative Data for the Multidimensional Relational Reasoning Task. Front Psychol 2021; 12:668256. [PMID: 34025531 PMCID: PMC8134533 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.668256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 04/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Relational reasoning is a complex form of human cognition involving the evaluation of relations between mental representations of information. Prior studies have modified stimulus properties of relational reasoning problems and examined differences in difficulty between different problem types. While subsets of these stimulus properties have been addressed in separate studies, there has not been a comprehensive study, to our knowledge, which investigates all of these properties in the same set of stimuli. This investigative gap has resulted in different findings across studies which vary in task design, making it challenging to determine what stimulus properties make relational reasoning-and the putative formation of mental models underlying reasoning-difficult. In this article, we present the Multidimensional Relational Reasoning Task (MRRT), a task which systematically varied an array of stimulus properties within a single set of relational reasoning problems. Using a mixed-effects framework, we demonstrate that reasoning problems containing a greater number of the premises as well as multidimensional relations led to greater task difficulty. The MRRT has been made publicly available for use in future research, along with normative data regarding the relative difficulty of each problem.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Robert A Cortes
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Adam B Weinberger
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
- Center for Neuroaesthetics, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Griffin A Colaizzi
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Grace F Porter
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Emily L Dyke
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Holly O Keaton
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Dakota L Walker
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| | - Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, United States
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Testing Symmetrical Knot Tracing for Cognitive Priming Effects Rules out Analytic Analogy. Symmetry (Basel) 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13010034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Ritual knots are symmetrical crisscrossing designs that appear in distant cultures around the world. Their independent emergence is plausibly due to shared features of human cognition and experience that such patterns represent. Since empirical investigation of this possibility is lacking in the literature, our aim is to open up this research area. We do so by asking whether the cultural production and appreciation of ritual knots could be conditioned or motivated by alignments and affordances linked to creative human cognition—advanced analogical modeling processes that are themselves often discussed in terms of bidirectional blending and symmetrical mapping. If manual tracing of a traditional knot design had positive priming effects on such reasoning processes, as we hypothesize, this would suggest an explanatory link between the two. To begin testing this hypothesis, we selected a basic, traditional knot design from Tibet, along with three established measures of formal analogical reasoning and one original measure of syntactic preference involving reciprocal constructions. We then undertook a series of cognitive trials testing for potential cognitive benefits of manually tracing the design. We contrasted prime condition results with a control group and an anti-prime condition group. The data show observable effects of time across multiple measures but no significant effects of time or condition, controlling for reported mindfulness. While this rules out the short-term priming effects of enhanced analogical reasoning at the analytic level following brief manual tracing of this design, the research opens the way for further empirical experimentation on the nature and emergence of symmetrical knots and their potential relationships with patterns of human thought.
Collapse
|
14
|
Benedek M, Jurisch J, Koschutnig K, Fink A, Beaty RE. Elements of creative thought: Investigating the cognitive and neural correlates of association and bi-association processes. Neuroimage 2020; 210:116586. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116586] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 12/19/2019] [Accepted: 01/24/2020] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
|
15
|
Abstract
Analogical reasoning is an active topic of investigation across education, artificial intelligence (AI), cognitive psychology, and related fields. In all fields of inquiry, explicit analogy problems provide useful tools for investigating the mechanisms underlying analogical reasoning. Such sets have been developed by researchers working in the fields of educational testing, AI, and cognitive psychology. However, these analogy tests have not been systematically made accessible across all the relevant fields. The present paper aims to remedy this situation by presenting a working inventory of verbal analogy problem sets, intended to capture and organize sets from diverse sources.
Collapse
|
16
|
Tempest GD, Radel R. Put on your (fNIRS) thinking cap: Frontopolar activation during augmented state creativity. Behav Brain Res 2019; 373:112082. [PMID: 31301410 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2019.112082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2019] [Revised: 06/25/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Thinking creatively requires the ability to consciously augment creative insight through processes such as analogical reasoning and relational cognition. Prior work has examined augmented states of creativity using a modified verb generation task which requires brief engagement in attempts to think creatively during MRI. In this study, we employed the verb generation task to examine augmented creative states and frontopolar cortex activation in a less-constrained setting using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Participants (n = 29) were presented with a noun and were required to think of an associated verb. In 50% of the trials, participants were instructed to 'think creatively' (cued condition) as opposed to stating the first or most prominent verb that came to mind (uncued condition). The task was administered in French to native speakers. Hemodynamic responses were recorded over the frontopolar cortex using fNIRS. The relatedness of the noun-verb pairs was calculated and other measures of creativity (the Alternate Uses Test, Compound Remote Associate Test and the Biographical Inventory of Creative Behaviors) were recorded. We showed that in the cued condition, semantic scores were higher (indicating more creative responses), positively associated with other measures of creativity, and changes in oxygenated hemoglobin were larger and more extensive in the left frontopolar cortex, than in the uncued condition. Our findings support the use of the verb generation task (administered in French) to augment creative states and provides further validation of the use of the task to capture creativity (i.e., processes involved in generating creative responses through distant associations). We highlight the use of fNIRS to measure associated regional changes in frontopolar cortex activity during augmented states of creativity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gavin D Tempest
- Université Côte d'Azur, Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé (LAMHESS), Nice, France; Stanford University, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford, USA.
| | - Rémi Radel
- Université Côte d'Azur, Laboratoire Motricité Humaine Expertise Sport Santé (LAMHESS), Nice, France
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Kmiecik MJ, Brisson RJ, Morrison RG. The time course of semantic and relational processing during verbal analogical reasoning. Brain Cogn 2019; 129:25-34. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2018.11.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Revised: 11/21/2018] [Accepted: 11/27/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
|
18
|
Wang P, Wijnants ML, Ritter SM. What Enables Novel Thoughts? The Temporal Structure of Associations and Its Relationship to Divergent Thinking. Front Psychol 2018; 9:1771. [PMID: 30319488 PMCID: PMC6167455 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01771] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2018] [Accepted: 09/03/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of the current study is to enhance our understanding of cognitive creativity, specifically divergent thinking, by employing an interdisciplinary methodological approach. By integrating methodology from computational linguistics and complex systems into creativity research, the current study aims to shed light on the relationship between divergent thinking and the temporal structure of semantic associations. In complex systems, temporal structures can be described on a continuum from random to flexible-stable and to persistent. Random structures are highly unpredictable, persistent structures are highly predictable, and flexible-stable structures are in-between, they are partly predictable from previous observations. Temporal structures of associations that are random (e.g., dog-graveyard-north pole) or persistent (e.g., dog-cat-rat) are hypothesized to be detrimental to divergent thinking. However, a flexible-stable structure (e.g., dog-police-drugs) is hypothesized to be related to enhanced divergent thinking (inverted-U). This notion was tested (N = 59) in an association chain task, combined with a frequently used measure of divergent thinking (i.e., Alternative Uses Test). Latent Semantic Analysis from computational linguistics was used to quantify the associations, and methods from complex systems in form of Power Spectral Density analysis and detrended fluctuation analysis were used to estimate the temporal structure of those associations. Although the current study does not confirm that a flexible-stable (vs. random/persistent) temporal structure of associations is related to enhanced divergent thinking skills, it hopefully challenges fellow researchers to refine the recent methodological developments for assessing the (temporal) structure of associations. Moreover, the current cross-fertilization of methodological approaches may inspire creativity researchers to take advantage of other fields' ideas and methods. To derive a theoretically sound cognitive theory of creativity, it is important to integrate research ideas and empirical methods from a variety of disciplines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Peng Wang
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Maarten L Wijnants
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Simone M Ritter
- Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Weinberger AB, Cortes RA, Green AE, Giordano J. Neuroethical and Social Implications of Using Transcranial Electrical Stimulation to Augment Creative Cognition. CREATIVITY RESEARCH JOURNAL 2018. [DOI: 10.1080/10400419.2018.1488199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
|
20
|
Rozenkrantz L, Mayo AE, Ilan T, Hart Y, Noy L, Alon U. Placebo can enhance creativity. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182466. [PMID: 28892513 PMCID: PMC5593173 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The placebo effect is usually studied in clinical settings for decreasing negative symptoms such as pain, depression and anxiety. There is interest in exploring the placebo effect also outside the clinic, for enhancing positive aspects of performance or cognition. Several studies indicate that placebo can enhance cognitive abilities including memory, implicit learning and general knowledge. Here, we ask whether placebo can enhance creativity, an important aspect of human cognition. METHODS Subjects were randomly assigned to a control group who smelled and rated an odorant (n = 45), and a placebo group who were treated identically but were also told that the odorant increases creativity and reduces inhibitions (n = 45). Subjects completed a recently developed automated test for creativity, the creative foraging game (CFG), and a randomly chosen subset (n = 57) also completed two manual standardized creativity tests, the alternate uses test (AUT) and the Torrance test (TTCT). In all three tests, participants were asked to create as many original solutions and were scored for originality, flexibility and fluency. RESULTS The placebo group showed higher originality than the control group both in the CFG (p<0.04, effect size = 0.5) and in the AUT (p<0.05, effect size = 0.4), but not in the Torrance test. The placebo group also found more shapes outside of the standard categories found by a set of 100 CFG players in a previous study, a feature termed out-of-the-boxness (p<0.01, effect size = 0.6). CONCLUSIONS The findings indicate that placebo can enhance the originality aspect of creativity. This strengthens the view that placebo can be used not only to reduce negative clinical symptoms, but also to enhance positive aspects of cognition. Furthermore, we find that the impact of placebo on creativity can be tested by CFG, which can quantify multiple aspects of creative search without need for manual coding. This approach opens the way to explore the behavioral and neural mechanisms by which placebo might amplify creativity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Liron Rozenkrantz
- Theater lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Dept. Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Dept. Neuroscience, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Avraham E. Mayo
- Theater lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Dept. Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Tomer Ilan
- Theater lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Yuval Hart
- Theater lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Dept. Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Lior Noy
- Theater lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Dept. Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- * E-mail: (LN); (UA)
| | - Uri Alon
- Theater lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Dept. Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- * E-mail: (LN); (UA)
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Hart Y, Mayo AE, Mayo R, Rozenkrantz L, Tendler A, Alon U, Noy L. Creative foraging: An experimental paradigm for studying exploration and discovery. PLoS One 2017; 12:e0182133. [PMID: 28767668 PMCID: PMC5540595 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2017] [Accepted: 07/12/2017] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Creative exploration is central to science, art and cognitive development. However, research on creative exploration is limited by a lack of high-resolution automated paradigms. To address this, we present such an automated paradigm, the creative foraging game, in which people search for novel and valuable solutions in a large and well-defined space made of all possible shapes made of ten connected squares. Players discovered shape categories such as digits, letters, and airplanes as well as more abstract categories. They exploited each category, then dropped it to explore once again, and so on. Aligned with a prediction of optimal foraging theory (OFT), during exploration phases, people moved along meandering paths that are about three times longer than the shortest paths between shapes; when exploiting a category of related shapes, they moved along the shortest paths. The moment of discovery of a new category was usually done at a non-prototypical and ambiguous shape, which can serve as an experimental proxy for creative leaps. People showed individual differences in their search patterns, along a continuum between two strategies: a mercurial quick-to-discover/quick-to-drop strategy and a thorough slow-to-discover/slow-to-drop strategy. Contrary to optimal foraging theory, players leave exploitation to explore again far before categories are depleted. This paradigm opens the way for automated high-resolution study of creative exploration.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yuval Hart
- The Theatre Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America
| | - Avraham E. Mayo
- The Theatre Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Ruth Mayo
- Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Liron Rozenkrantz
- The Theatre Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Neurobiology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Avichai Tendler
- The Theatre Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Uri Alon
- The Theatre Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- * E-mail: (UA); (LN)
| | - Lior Noy
- The Theatre Lab, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- Department of Molecular Cell Biology, Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel
- * E-mail: (UA); (LN)
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Weinberger AB, Green AE, Chrysikou EG. Using Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Enhance Creative Cognition: Interactions between Task, Polarity, and Stimulation Site. Front Hum Neurosci 2017; 11:246. [PMID: 28559804 PMCID: PMC5432551 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2017.00246] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Creative cognition is frequently described as involving two primary processes, idea generation and idea selection. A growing body of research has used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to examine the neural mechanisms implicated in each of these processes. This literature has yielded a diverse set of findings that vary depending on the location and type (anodal, cathodal, or both) of electrical stimulation employed, as well as the task's reliance on idea generation or idea selection. As a result, understanding the interactions between stimulation site, polarity and task demands is required to evaluate the potential of tDCS to enhance creative performance. Here, we review tDCS designs that have elicited reliable and dissociable enhancements for creative cognition. Cathodal stimulation over the left inferior frontotemporal cortex has been associated with improvements on tasks that rely primarily on idea generation, whereas anodal tDCS over left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and frontopolar cortex has been shown to augment performance on tasks that impose high demands on creative idea selection. These results highlight the functional selectivity of tDCS for different components of creative thinking and confirm the dissociable contributions of left dorsal and inferior lateral frontotemporal cortex for different creativity tasks. We discuss promising avenues for future research that can advance our understanding of the effectiveness of tDCS as a method to enhance creative cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown UniversityWashington, DC, USA
| | | |
Collapse
|
23
|
Green AE, Spiegel KA, Giangrande EJ, Weinberger AB, Gallagher NM, Turkeltaub PE. Thinking Cap Plus Thinking Zap: tDCS of Frontopolar Cortex Improves Creative Analogical Reasoning and Facilitates Conscious Augmentation of State Creativity in Verb Generation. Cereb Cortex 2017; 27:2628-2639. [PMID: 27075035 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent neuroimaging evidence indicates neural mechanisms that support transient improvements in creative performance (augmented state creativity) in response to cognitive interventions (creativity cueing). Separately, neural interventions via tDCS show encouraging potential for modulating neuronal function during creative performance. If cognitive and neural interventions are separately effective, can they be combined? Does state creativity augmentation represent "real" creativity, or do interventions simply yield divergence by diminishing meaningfulness/appropriateness? Can augmenting state creativity bolster creative reasoning that supports innovation, particularly analogical reasoning? To address these questions, we combined tDCS with creativity cueing. Testing a regionally specific hypothesis from neuroimaging, high-definition tDCS-targeted frontopolar cortex activity recently shown to predict state creativity augmentation. In a novel analogy finding task, participants under tDCS formulated substantially more creative analogical connections in a large matrix search space (creativity indexed via latent semantic analysis). Critically, increased analogical creativity was not due to diminished accuracy in discerning valid analogies, indicating "real" creativity rather than inappropriate divergence. A simpler relational creativity paradigm (modified verb generation) revealed a tDCS-by-cue interaction; tDCS further enhanced creativity cue-related increases in semantic distance. Findings point to the potential of noninvasive neuromodulation to enhance creative relational cognition, including augmentation of the deliberate effort to formulate connections between distant concepts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adam E Green
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Evan J Giangrande
- Clinical and Translational Neuroscience Branch, National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, MD, USA
| | - Adam B Weinberger
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA
| | | | - Peter E Turkeltaub
- Department of Neurology, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC, USA.,Research Division, MedStar National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington, DC, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Beaty RE, Christensen AP, Benedek M, Silvia PJ, Schacter DL. Creative constraints: Brain activity and network dynamics underlying semantic interference during idea production. Neuroimage 2017; 148:189-196. [PMID: 28082106 PMCID: PMC6083214 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 97] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2016] [Revised: 12/09/2016] [Accepted: 01/06/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional neuroimaging research has recently revealed brain network interactions during performance on creative thinking tasks-particularly among regions of the default and executive control networks-but the cognitive mechanisms related to these interactions remain poorly understood. Here we test the hypothesis that the executive control network can interact with the default network to inhibit salient conceptual knowledge (i.e., pre-potent responses) elicited from memory during creative idea production. Participants studied common noun-verb pairs and were given a cued-recall test with corrective feedback to strengthen the paired association in memory. They then completed a verb generation task that presented either a previously studied noun (high-constraint) or an unstudied noun (low-constraint), and were asked to "think creatively" while searching for a novel verb to relate to the presented noun. Latent Semantic Analysis of verbal responses showed decreased semantic distance values in the high-constraint (i.e., interference) condition, which corresponded to increased neural activity within regions of the default (posterior cingulate cortex and bilateral angular gyri), salience (right anterior insula), and executive control (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) networks. Independent component analysis of intrinsic functional connectivity networks extended this finding by revealing differential interactions among these large-scale networks across the task conditions. The results suggest that interactions between the default and executive control networks underlie response inhibition during constrained idea production, providing insight into specific neurocognitive mechanisms supporting creative cognition.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Roger E Beaty
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, USA.
| | | | | | - Paul J Silvia
- Department of Psychology, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA
| | - Daniel L Schacter
- Department of Psychology and Center for Brain Science, Harvard University, USA
| |
Collapse
|