Mind wandering and musical creativity in jazz improvisation

2021 ◽  
pp. 030573562110333
Author(s):  
Pedro T. Palhares ◽  
Diogo Branco ◽  
Óscar F. Gonçalves
Keyword(s):  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Jazz Improvisation ◽  
Creative Behavior ◽  
Creative Cognition ◽  
Musical Creativity ◽  
Musical Improvisation ◽  
Performance Domains ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Thought Probes ◽  
Problem Solving Task

Mind wandering is a prevalent and ubiquitous phenomenon. Several studies suggest that mind wandering benefits creativity if it occurs in the incubation period of a creative problem-solving task. However, it could be impairing real-time expression of creative behavior if it occurs during the course of a creative task. This dissociation between incubation and performance suggests that mind wandering poses a double-edged sword to creative cognition. Jazz improvisation provides an ecologically useful framework for studying the effects of mind wandering on creativity. Here we hypothesized that mind wandering during a musical improvisation task would be associated with higher levels of musical creativity, compared with on-task attention. Nine experienced musicians performed several jazz improvisation tasks interleaved with the presentation of random thought probes. The results showed that musical improvisation during unintentional mind wandering was associated with higher musical creativity when compared with improvisation during on-task attention. However, mind wandering did not impact overall improvisational quality. Altogether, these data suggest that the positive relationship between mind wandering and creativity also extends to artistic performance domains.

Cognitive and affective benefits of colouring: Two randomized controlled crossover studies

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Jane Holt ◽  
Leah Furbert ◽  
Emily Sweetingham
Keyword(s):  
Selective Attention ◽  
Performance Measures ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Attention Task ◽  
Creative Cognition ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Mindful Attention ◽  
Crossover Studies ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Implicit Mood

The current research sought to replicate and extend work suggesting that coloring can reduce anxiety, asking whether coloring can improve cognitive performance. In two experiments undergraduates (N = 47; N = 52) colored and participated in a control condition. Subjective and performance measures of mood and mindfulness were included: an implicit mood test (Experiment 1) and a selective attention task (Experiment 2) along with a divergent thinking test. In both experiments coloring significantly reduced anxiety and increased mindfulness compared with control and baseline scores. Following coloring participants scored significantly lower on implicit fear, than the control condition, and significantly higher on selective attention and original ideation. Coloring may not only reduce anxiety, but also improve mindful attention and creative cognition.

EXPRESS: Bored, distracted and forgetful – The impact of mind wandering and boredom on memory encoding

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110263
Author(s):  
Philippe Blondé ◽  
Marco Sperduti ◽  
Dominique Makowski ◽  
Pascale Piolino
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Memory Load ◽  
Memory Performance ◽  
Load Condition ◽  
Recognition Task ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Memory Encoding ◽  
Working Memory Load ◽  
Thought Probes ◽  
The Impact

Mind wandering, defined as focusing attention toward task unrelated thoughts, is a common mental state known to impair memory encoding. This phenomenon is closely linked to boredom. Very few studies, however, have tested the potential impact of boredom on memory encoding. Thus, the present study aimed at manipulating mind wandering and boredom during an incidental memory encoding task, to test their differential impact on memory encoding. Thirty-two participants performed a variant of the n-back task in which they had to indicate if the current on-screen object was the same as the previous one (1-back; low working memory load) or the one presented three trials before (3-back; high working memory load). Moreover, thought probes assessing either mind wandering or boredom were randomly presented. Afterward, a surprise recognition task was delivered. Results showed that mind wandering and boredom were highly correlated, and both decreased in the high working memory load condition, while memory performance increased. Although both boredom and mind wandering predicted memory performance taken separately, we found that mind wandering was the only reliable predictor of memory performance when controlling for boredom and working memory load. Model comparisons also revealed that a model with boredom only was outperformed by a model with mind wandering only and a model with both mind wandering and boredom, suggesting that the predictive contribution of boredom in the complete model is minimal. The present results confirm the high correlation between mind wandering and boredom and suggest that the hindering effect of boredom on memory is subordinate to the effect of mind wandering.

Relationships between Learning Styles and Performance on Problem-Solving Tasks

1986 ◽  
Vol 59 (3) ◽  
pp. 1135-1138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Penny Armstrong ◽  
Ernest McDaniel
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Learning Styles ◽  
Learning Style ◽  
Choice Point ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Problem Solving Task

A computerized problem-solving task was employed to study the relationships among problem-solving behaviors and learning styles. College students made choices to find their way home in a simulated “lost in the woods” task and wrote their. reasons at each choice point. Time to read relevant information and time to make decisions were measured by the computer clock. These variables were correlated with learning style variables from Schmeck's (1977) questionnaire. The findings indicated that subjects who perceived themselves as competent learners take more time on the problem-solving task, use more information and make fewer wrong choices.

Notes on Emotional Components of Musical Creativity and Performance

1994 ◽  
Vol 128 (6) ◽  
pp. 635-640 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick L. Lund ◽  
Peter L. Kranz
Keyword(s):  
Musical Creativity ◽  
And Performance

scholarly journals The validity of the online thought-probing procedure of mind wandering is not threatened by variations of probe rate and probe framing

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Lena Schubert ◽  
Gidon T. Frischkorn ◽  
Jan Rummel
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory Capacity ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Time Variability ◽  
Ongoing Task ◽  
Reaction Time Variability ◽  
Measurement Variation ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Great Heterogeneity ◽  
Response Task ◽  
Thought Probes

Recently, there has been a surge of interest in the measurement of mind-wandering during ongoing tasks. The frequently used online thought-probing procedure (OTPP), in which individuals are probed on whether their thoughts are on-task or not while performing an ongoing task, has repeatedly been criticized, because variations in the frequency of thought probes and the order in which on-task and off-task thoughts are referred to have been shown to affect mind-wandering rates. Hitherto, it is unclear whether this susceptibility to measurement variation only affects mean response rates in probe-caught mind-wandering or poses an actual threat to the validity of the OTPP, endangering the replicability and generalizability of study results. Here we show in a sample of 177 students that variations of the frequency or framing of thought probes do not affect the validity of the OTPP. While we found that more frequent thought probing reduced the rate of probe-caught mind-wandering, we did not replicate the effect that mind-wandering is more likely to be reported when off-task thoughts are referred to first rather than second. Crucially, associations between probe-caught mind-wandering and task performance, as well as associations between probe-caught mind-wandering and covariates (trait mind-wandering, reaction-time variability in the metronome-response task, working-memory capacity) did not change with variations of the probing procedure. Therefore, it seems unlikely that the great heterogeneity in the way the OTPP is implemented across different studies endangers the replicability and generalizability of study results. Data and analysis code are available at https://osf.io/7w8bm/.

scholarly journals The impact of creative behaviors of employees on the performance of government institutions in Karak: أثر السلوكيات الإبداعية للموظفين على أداء المؤسسات الحكومية بمحافظة الكرك

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (11) ◽  
Author(s):  
Maysoon Karim Al-Khatatneh
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Significant Relationship ◽  
Institutional Performance ◽  
Analytical Methodology ◽  
Creative Behavior ◽  
Government Institutions ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Change Problem

The study aimed to identify the level of creative behavior, and to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the variables of creative behavior (brainstorming, ability to change, problem solving) in government institutions in Jordan. The study aimed to identify the level of institutional performance, and analyze the impact of creative behaviors of employees on the performance of government institutions in Jordan. The study adopted descriptive & analytical methodology based on a questionnaire applied to a sample of 50 employees in government institutions. The study found that there is a statistically significant relationship between the creative behaviors of employees and performance in government institutions in Jordan, and in the light of the findings, the study reached the recommends to increase attention to the creative behavior of employees in government institutions.    

scholarly journals Watching television in a home environment: effect on children’s attention, comprehension and behavior

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E Rose ◽  
Alexandra Lamont ◽  
Nicholas Reyland
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Ecological Validity ◽  
Experimental Studies ◽  
Tv Viewing ◽  
Facilitation Effect ◽  
Environment Effect ◽  
And Performance ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Harmful Effects ◽  
Problem Solving Task

Correlational studies have suggested some harmful effects of television (TV) viewing in early childhood, especially for the viewing of fast-paced entertainment programs. However, this has not been consistently supported by experimental studies, many of which have lacked ecological validity. The current study explores the effects of pace of program on the attention, problem solving and comprehension of 41 3- and 4-year-olds using an ecologically valid experimental design. Children were visited twice at home; on each visit they were shown an episode of a popular animated entertainment program which differed in pace: one faster paced, one slower paced. Children’s behavior was coded for attention and arousal during viewing, attention, effort and performance after viewing during a problem-solving task, and comprehension of the program. The faster paced program was attended to more, but this had no impact on comprehension. Although 3-year-olds showed more attention and effort on the problem-solving task after watching the slower program, both 3- and 4-year-olds completed more problems successfully after watching the faster program. The results provide evidence to counter the ‘harm’ perceived in young children watching fast-paced entertainment programs as where differences were found it was the fast-paced program which appeared to have a cognitive facilitation effect.

scholarly journals Refixation Patterns of Mind-wandering during Real-world Scene Perception

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han Zhang ◽  
Nicola C Anderson ◽  
Kevin Miller
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Real World ◽  
Visual Processing ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Scene Perception ◽  
Mind Wandering ◽  
Quantification Analysis ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Thought Probes

Recent studies have shown that mind-wandering (MW) is associated with changes in eye movement parameters, but have not explored how MW affects the sequential pattern of eye movements involved in making sense of complex visual information. Eye movements naturally unfold over time and this process may reveal novel information about cognitive processing during MW. The current study used Recurrence Quantification Analysis (Anderson, Bischof, Laidlaw, Risko, & Kingstone, 2013) to describe the pattern of refixations (fixations directed to previously-inspected regions) during MW. Participants completed a real-world scene encoding task and responded to thought probes assessing intentional and unintentional MW. Both types of MW were associated with worse memory of the scenes. Importantly, RQA showed that scanpaths during unintentional MW were more repetitive than during on-task episodes, as indicated by a higher recurrence rate and more stereotypical fixation sequences. This increased repetitiveness suggests an adaptive response to processing failures through re-examining previous locations. Moreover, this increased repetitiveness contributed to fixations focusing on a smaller spatial scale of the stimuli. Finally, we were also able to validate several traditional measures: both intentional and unintentional MW were associated with fewer and longer fixations; Eye-blinking increased numerically during both types of MW but the difference was only significant for unintentional MW. Overall, the results advanced our understanding of how visual processing is affected during MW by highlighting the sequential aspect of eye movements.

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