Dreamlike and Playful Virtual Environments to Inspire Children’s Divergent Thinking

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Jérôme Guegan ◽  
Claire Brechet ◽  
Julien Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Environments ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Combined Processes ◽  
Office Environment ◽  
School Aged Children

Abstract. Computers have long been seen as possible tools to foster creativity in children. In this respect, virtual environments present an interesting potential to support idea generation but also to steer it in relevant directions. A total of 96 school-aged children completed a standard divergent thinking task while being exposed to one of three virtual environments: a replica of the headmistress’s office, a replica of their schoolyard, and a dreamlike environment. Results showed that participants produced more original ideas in the dreamlike and playful environments than in the headmistress’s office environment. Additionally, the contents of the environment influenced the selective exploration of idea categories. We discuss these results in terms of two combined processes: explicit references to sources of inspiration in the environment, and the implicit priming of specific idea categories.

Design Ideation Through Speculative Fiction: Foundational Principles and Exploratory Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 143 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maulik C. Kotecha ◽  
Ting-Ju Chen ◽  
Daniel A. McAdams ◽  
Vinayak Krishnamurthy
Keyword(s):  
Science Fiction ◽  
Engineering Design ◽  
User Interfaces ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Speculative Fiction ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Design Ideation

Abstract The objective of this study is to position speculative fiction as a broader framework to stimulate, facilitate, and study engineering design ideation. For this, we first present a comprehensive and detailed review of the literature on how fiction, especially science fiction, has played a role in design and decision-making. To further strengthen the need for speculative fiction for idea stimulation, we further prototype and study a prototype workflow that utilizes excerpts from speculative fiction books as textual stimuli for design ideation. Through a qualitative study of this workflow, we gain insights into the effect of textual stimuli from science fiction narratives on design concepts. Our study reveals that the texts consisting of the terms from the design statement or closely related to the problem boost the idea generation process. We further discover that less directly related stimuli may encourage out-of-the-box and divergent thinking. Using the insights gained from our study, we pose critical questions to initiate speculative fiction-based design ideation as a new research direction in engineering design. Subsequently, we discuss current research directions and domains necessary to take the technical, technological, and methodological steps needed for future research on design methodologies based on speculative fictional inspiration. Finally, we present a practical case to demonstrate how an engineering design workflow could be operationalized by investigating a concrete example of the design of automotive user interfaces (automotive-UI) through the lens of speculative fiction.

Memory and Idea Generation Applied to Product Repurposing

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Arabian ◽  
D. R. Addis ◽  
L. H. Shu
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Wind Turbine ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Turbine Blades ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Standard Test ◽  
Wind Turbine Blades ◽  
Engineering Problems ◽  
Episodic Memories

Abstract Many engineering problems still require novel solutions, e.g., the repurposing of retired wind-turbine blades. Increasing evidence suggests that the recall of episodic memories enhances idea generation, but its application to engineering problems has been limited. The current work investigates the effectiveness of a memory induction on generating ideas. Engineering undergraduate students in a fourth-year design course (N = 38) completed a study under both of two conditions, a memory induction and a control (non-episodic-memory) induction. Participants underwent the induction before generating ideas on the Alternate Uses Task (AUT), a standard test of divergent thinking, and a wind-turbine-blade repurposing task (WRT). AUT responses following the memory induction were deemed significantly more flexible (p = .045) and elaborate (p = .041) than responses following the control induction. No difference in response fluency (p = 0.205) followed the two inductions, possibly due to limited time allotted for the AUT. In line with this explanation, fluency was inversely related to elaboration. In the WRT, more appropriate (p = 0.009) and more feasible (p = 0.015) ideas for repurposing wind-turbine blades were generated following the memory than the control induction. These results suggest that strategies increasing access to episodic memory may improve generation of alternative-use ideas for both common objects and wind-turbine blades.

scholarly journals Divergent Thinking Ability + Interest = Creative Ideas: Exploring the Relationships Between Cognitive Creativity Assessments and Product Design Idea Generation

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jieun Kwon ◽  
Luke Bromback ◽  
Barry Kudrowitz
Keyword(s):  
Product Design ◽  
External Validity ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Thinking Skills ◽  
Assessment Technique ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Consensual Assessment Technique ◽  
Product Familiarity

The external validity of existing creativity tests was examined in the product-design field. To examine the external validity, this study adopted the Consensual Assessment Technique (CAT), by which industry leaders directly rate product ideas for their creativity. A simple correlation analysis showed that among three broadly used creativity tests (Remote Associations Test, Alternative Uses Test, and Torrance Test for Creative Thinking), only the Alternative Uses Test (AUT) was found to predict creativity in the product-design industry. In addition to the correlations analysis, two factors, product familiarity and level of interest, were tested for moderation. The results show that familiarity with the product lessens RAT-CAT (Remote Associations Test - Consensual Assessment Technique) correlation, whereas level of interest strengthens the correlation. Thus, the less familiar and more interested an individual is in the product, the more likely the individual’s divergent thinking skills will translate into an actual creative product idea.

Application of Creativity Tools to Gas Turbine Engine Compressor Clearance Control

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Godwin I. Ekong ◽  
Christopher A. Long ◽  
Peter R. N. Childs
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Gas Turbine ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Problem Definition ◽  
Tip Clearance ◽  
Turbine Engine ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Innovative Products ◽  
Clearance Control

Creativity tools are methods that can be used to promote innovative products and creative actions. There is a wide range of tools available for idea generation, employing divergent and convergent thinking for problem definition, exploration of problem features, generation of solution options, evaluation and implementation of ideas. Fundamental to their effective operation is to make use of a suitable creativity tool for a particular application and individual or team, to aid in the process of problem-solving, the refinement of old ideas, and the generation and implementation of new ideas. The principal creativity tool described in this paper is TRIZ which is the Russian acronym for Teoriya Resheniya Izobretatelskikh Zadatch meaning Theory of Inventive Problem Solving. This paper emphasizes the processes and specific TRIZ tools used in the implementation of TRIZ in the exploration of concepts for tip clearance control in gas turbine high pressure compressors in aircraft engines. The TRIZ process was used to categorize ideas generated through divergent thinking thus reducing the number of ideas carried forward for further engineering analysis.

Cognitive heuristics in design: Instructional strategies to increase creativity in idea generation

2010 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-355 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Yilmaz ◽  
C.M. Seifert ◽  
R. Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Personal Development ◽  
Design Education ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Cognitive Strategies ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Problem Space ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Design Heuristics ◽  
First Year College Students

AbstractThis paper explores the use of heuristics as cognitive strategies invoked during the process of design. Heuristics are reasoning processes that do not guarantee the best solution, but often lead to potential solutions by providing a simple cognitive “shortcut.” We propose that designers use specific design heuristics to explore the problem space of potential designs, leading to the generation of creative solutions. We test whether design heuristics can be taught to novices, and suggest their use will facilitate the design process at multiple levels of instruction. In the present empirical study, we evaluate a set of six instructional heuristics and validate their effectiveness with product concepts generated by novice designers. Six hundred seventy-three drawings were created by 120 first-year college students under four instructional conditions. Drawings were coded according to their content, use of heuristics, creativity, and practicality. The most creative concepts emerged from the experimental conditions where heuristics were introduced. Heuristics appeared to help the participants “jump” to a new problem space, resulting in more varied designs, and a greater frequency of designs judged as more creative. Our findings suggest that simple demonstration of design heuristics may, at times, be sufficient to stimulate divergent thinking, perhaps because these heuristics are readily grasped and contextual application is not required. Based on these findings, a conceptual model for design education emphasizing the importance of using a variety of heuristics is proposed. This model suggests that learning can be enhanced through exposure to a variety of design heuristics, and can supplement formal education and foster personal development in design learning.

Clustering and switching in divergent thinking: Neurophysiological correlates underlying flexibility during idea generation

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serena Mastria ◽  
Sergio Agnoli ◽  
Marco Zanon ◽  
Selcuk Acar ◽  
Mark Runco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Cognitive Resources ◽  
Alpha Band ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Posterior Parietal ◽  
Eeg Alpha ◽  
The Right

EEG alpha synchronization, especially in posterior parietal cortical regions of the right hemisphere, is indicative of high internal processing demands that are typically involved in divergent thinking (DT). During the course of DT, as ideation proceeds, ideas tend to become more creative, being more likely to be drawn from new conceptual categories through the use of the cognitive mechanism of flexibility. The present study investigated whether EEG alpha synchronization can be modulated by flexibility in DT by comparing cortical activation patterns during the switch of category (switching) and the stay in the same category (clustering). Twenty participants were required to generate alternative uses of everyday objects during EEG recording. Differential results were specifically found in the lower alpha band (8-10 Hz): whereas clustering showed synchronization typically lateralized in the right posterior parietal areas, switching induced posterior parietal synchronization over both right and left hemispheres. These findings indicate that the two distinct cognitive mechanisms subsuming flexibility (switching and clustering) are associated with a different hemispheric modulation of lower alpha activity, as switching, in comparison to clustering, is related to higher power in the lower alpha band over the left hemisphere. Switching in comparison to clustering may thus require a larger investment of cognitive resources due to the exploratory process of moving from one semantic conceptual category to another in the course of creative ideation.

scholarly journals Gender Differences in the Distribution of Creativity Scores: Domain-Specific Patterns in Divergent Thinking and Creative Problem Solving

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wu-jing He ◽  
Wan-chi Wong
Keyword(s):  
Gender Differences ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Score Distribution ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Creative Problem ◽  
Gendered Patterns

The present study examined gender differences in the distribution of creative abilities through the lens of the greater male variability hypothesis, which postulated that men showed greater interindividual variability than women in both physical and psychological attributes (Ellis, 1894/1934). Two hundred and six (51.9% female) undergraduate students in Hong Kong completed two creativity measures that evaluated different aspects of creativity, including: (a) a divergent thinking test that aimed to assess idea generation and (b) a creative problem-solving test that aimed to assess restructuring ability. The present findings extended the research of greater male variability in creativity by showing that men generally exhibited greater variance than women in the overall distribution of the creativity scores in both divergent thinking and creative problem solving, despite trivial gender differences in mean scores. The findings further enriched the discourse of the greater male variability hypothesis by showing interesting domain-specific gendered patterns: (1) greater male variability was more likely to occur in figural forms of creativity, with larger effect sizes, when compared to the variability in verbal forms of creativity; and (2) mixed gendered patterns were found in the upper tails of the creativity score distribution with respect to the verbal domain but not the figural one, despite greater male representation being consistently observed in the lower tail of the distribution. Possible underlying mechanisms and implications were discussed.

scholarly journals Can Habits Impede Creativity by Inducing Fixation?

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Ibáñez de Aldecoa ◽  
Sanne de Wit ◽  
Sabine Tebbich
Keyword(s):  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Standardized Test ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Idea Generation ◽  
Stimulus Response ◽  
Frequent Use ◽  
Predicted Probability ◽  
Frequency Of Use ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Do So

In a competitive and ever-changing world, the ability to generate outstanding ideas is crucial. However, this process can be impeded by factors such as fixation on ideas that emerged through prior experience. The aim of the present study was to shed light on the fixating effect of habits on creativity. To this end, healthy young adults were asked to generate alternative uses for items that differed in their frequency of use in the Alternative Uses Task (a standardized test for divergent thinking). We predicted that frequent past use of an item would lead to the formation of stimulus-response associations between the item and its most frequent use(s) and thereby hinder idea generation. Indeed, individuals were less flexible (but more fluent) in generating ideas for frequently used items than for unknown items. Additionally, we found that subjective automaticity of idea generation was negatively related with flexibility. Finally, we investigated whether individual differences in general habit tendency influence creativity, by relating performance on the Slips-of-Action task (an outcome devaluation paradigm extensively used in habit research) to performance on the Alternative Uses Task, the Candle Problem (a classic convergent thinking task) and two puzzles (non-conventional problem-solving tasks). While we did not find a significant relationship between habit tendency and the Alternative Uses Task or the Candle Problem scores, the tendency to rely on habits predicted probability to succeed and latency to solve one of the puzzles: less habit-prone participants were more likely to solve it and to do so faster. In conclusion, our study provides evidence for the notion that habits can negatively impact creativity and opens promising future avenues of research in this field.

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