scholarly journals Aligning bodies and minds: New insights about synchrony's effects on creative thinking, cohesion and positive affect

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Reneeta Mogan Naidu
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Real World ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Shared Intentionality

<p>Researchers conjecture that rituals have been prevalent in human activities for millennia due to tacit evolutionary functions of solidarity and cooperation. A key element of ritualistic behaviours is synchrony, defined as the matching of actions in time with others. Synchrony has been associated with a range of phenomena, including increased affiliation, connectedness, and cooperation among group members. However, there have been a number of failed replications of key studies. Furthermore, synchrony research has focused mainly on social and affective responses. Synchrony’s effects on cognitive processes remain largely unexamined, even though synchronous actions require social cognition. In this thesis, I investigate the link between synchrony and creative thinking, a basic and distinctively human cognitive process. This thesis reports four empirical studies conducted to investigate two main aims: (1) synthesise existing synchrony literature to determine synchrony’s overall effect on previously studied outcomes; and (2) investigate the relationship between synchrony and creative thinking. The focus on creativity is theoretically relevant because both sociological speculations about synchrony’s role on cultural conformity and real-world observations on reduced decision quality in highly cohesive groups (e.g., groupthink) suggest that synchrony may have detrimental effects on creativity. To address the first aim, a meta-analysis (Study 1) of experimentally manipulated synchrony studies showed that synchrony was positively associated (small to medium effect sizes) with prosocial behaviour, social bonding perceptions, partner cognition, and positive affect. Three experimental studies were conducted to address the second aim. Study 2 investigated the direct association between synchrony and two components of creative thinking – convergent thinking (i.e., synthesis of ideas toward a single creative solution) and divergent thinking (i.e., generation of multiple alternative ideas) – and aimed to replicate shared intentionality (i.e., shared goal/purpose) on positive social and affective responses. Shared intentionality has been argued as one of the main mechanisms amplifying synchrony’s positive social effects. In this study, I found that synchrony impaired convergent thinking when paired with shared intentionality, but I did not find support for a statistically significant effect of synchrony on divergent thinking. Additionally, I replicated synchrony’s positive social and affective effects. Broadening the scope, ritualistic behaviours in real-world contexts often vary in synchronicity and physical intensity simultaneously. Intensity has been shown to increase social bonding, well-being, and certain cognitive processes; therefore, it is important to study the separate effects of synchrony and intensity on these outcomes. To do so, I conducted a naturalistic field study (Study 3) of group exercises varying in synchrony and intensity, and Study 4 examined the same associations with a controlled experiment. I found that synchrony impaired divergent thinking, but high intensity facilitated divergent and convergent thinking. Synchrony paired with shared intentionality as well as high intensity increased cohesion among participants. Moreover, performing movements together regardless of synchronicity may be sufficient to increase positive affect. My thesis offers a novel theoretical and empirical contribution to knowledge by revealing that although synchronised actions may have been evolutionarily adaptive for prosocial behaviours, cohesion, and well-being, synchrony also appears to inhibit cognitive processes such as creative thinking.</p>

scholarly journals Aligning bodies and minds: New insights about synchrony's effects on creative thinking, cohesion and positive affect

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Reneeta Mogan Naidu
Keyword(s):  
Positive Affect ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Real World ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Social Bonding ◽  
Affective Responses ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Shared Intentionality

<p>Researchers conjecture that rituals have been prevalent in human activities for millennia due to tacit evolutionary functions of solidarity and cooperation. A key element of ritualistic behaviours is synchrony, defined as the matching of actions in time with others. Synchrony has been associated with a range of phenomena, including increased affiliation, connectedness, and cooperation among group members. However, there have been a number of failed replications of key studies. Furthermore, synchrony research has focused mainly on social and affective responses. Synchrony’s effects on cognitive processes remain largely unexamined, even though synchronous actions require social cognition. In this thesis, I investigate the link between synchrony and creative thinking, a basic and distinctively human cognitive process. This thesis reports four empirical studies conducted to investigate two main aims: (1) synthesise existing synchrony literature to determine synchrony’s overall effect on previously studied outcomes; and (2) investigate the relationship between synchrony and creative thinking. The focus on creativity is theoretically relevant because both sociological speculations about synchrony’s role on cultural conformity and real-world observations on reduced decision quality in highly cohesive groups (e.g., groupthink) suggest that synchrony may have detrimental effects on creativity. To address the first aim, a meta-analysis (Study 1) of experimentally manipulated synchrony studies showed that synchrony was positively associated (small to medium effect sizes) with prosocial behaviour, social bonding perceptions, partner cognition, and positive affect. Three experimental studies were conducted to address the second aim. Study 2 investigated the direct association between synchrony and two components of creative thinking – convergent thinking (i.e., synthesis of ideas toward a single creative solution) and divergent thinking (i.e., generation of multiple alternative ideas) – and aimed to replicate shared intentionality (i.e., shared goal/purpose) on positive social and affective responses. Shared intentionality has been argued as one of the main mechanisms amplifying synchrony’s positive social effects. In this study, I found that synchrony impaired convergent thinking when paired with shared intentionality, but I did not find support for a statistically significant effect of synchrony on divergent thinking. Additionally, I replicated synchrony’s positive social and affective effects. Broadening the scope, ritualistic behaviours in real-world contexts often vary in synchronicity and physical intensity simultaneously. Intensity has been shown to increase social bonding, well-being, and certain cognitive processes; therefore, it is important to study the separate effects of synchrony and intensity on these outcomes. To do so, I conducted a naturalistic field study (Study 3) of group exercises varying in synchrony and intensity, and Study 4 examined the same associations with a controlled experiment. I found that synchrony impaired divergent thinking, but high intensity facilitated divergent and convergent thinking. Synchrony paired with shared intentionality as well as high intensity increased cohesion among participants. Moreover, performing movements together regardless of synchronicity may be sufficient to increase positive affect. My thesis offers a novel theoretical and empirical contribution to knowledge by revealing that although synchronised actions may have been evolutionarily adaptive for prosocial behaviours, cohesion, and well-being, synchrony also appears to inhibit cognitive processes such as creative thinking.</p>

scholarly journals Regular Vigorous-Intensity Physical Activity and Walking Are Associated with Divergent but Not Convergent Thinking in Japanese Young Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1046
Author(s):  
Chong Chen ◽  
Yasuhiro Mochizuki ◽  
Kosuke Hagiwara ◽  
Masako Hirotsu ◽  
Shin Nakagawa
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Exercise Intervention ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Intervention Effects ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Vigorous Intensity

The beneficial effects of regular physical activity (PA) on cognitive functions have received much attention. Recent research suggests that regular PA may also enhance creative thinking, an indispensable cognitive factor for invention and innovation. However, at what intensity regular PA brings the most benefits to creative thinking remains uninvestigated. Furthermore, whether the levels of regular PA affect the acute PA effects on creative thinking is also unclear. In the present study, using a previous dataset that investigated the effects of an acute bout of aerobic exercise on creative thinking in healthy Japanese young adults (22.98 ± 1.95 years old) in the year 2020, we tested the association between different intensities of regular PA (i.e., vigorous, moderate, and walking) and creative thinking with the cross-sectional baseline data using multiple linear regression. We also investigated whether regular PA levels were associated with the acute aerobic exercise intervention effects on creative thinking. The results showed that cross-sectionally, the regular PAs were differentially associated with divergent but not convergent thinking. Specifically, whereas the amount of vigorous-intensity PA was positively associated with fluency and flexibility, the amount of walking was positively associated with novelty on the alternate uses test (AUT) measuring divergent thinking. Importantly, the explained variances of fluency, flexibility, and novelty were 20.3% (p = 0.040), 18.8% (p = 0.055), and 20.1% (p = 0.043), respectively. None of the regular PAs predicted convergent thinking (i.e., an insight problem-solving task), nor were they associated with the acute aerobic exercise intervention effects on divergent and convergent thinking. These findings suggest that engaging in regular vigorous-intensity PA and walking may be useful strategies to enhance different aspects of divergent thinking in daily life.

The Psychology of Creativity

2019 ◽  
pp. 64-85
Author(s):  
Robert J. Sternberg
Keyword(s):  
Intrinsic Motivation ◽  
Real World ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Creative Work ◽  
Creative People ◽  
Investment Theory ◽  
Facet Model ◽  
Alternative Theories ◽  
Psychology Of Creativity

With respect to the psychology of creativity, different approaches are presented that this author has developed over the years. In particular, they are a three-facet approach, an investment approach, and a propulsion approach to creative work. According to the three-facet model, the aspect of intelligence that is most important is creative intelligence. According to the investment theory, creative people defy the crowd as they question familiar beliefs and assumptions. According to the propulsion theory, creativity propels a field in a new direction. Divergent thinking is discussed, but only as a small part of the wider scope of creativity that occurs in real-world domains. Alternative theories are reviewed. Emerging from these theories are common “creative” dispositions that are described, such as an openness to new experience, a willingness to take risks, and intrinsic motivation. Conclusions are drawn regarding how education—often early education—can nurture the development of creative thinking in our society.

Leveraging Computer Interface to Support Creative Thinking

2019 ◽  
pp. 246-265
Author(s):  
Robert Z. Zheng ◽  
Kevin Greenberg
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Human Learning ◽  
Computer Interface ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Conceptual Level ◽  
Brain Functions

How to design computer interface that facilitates learners' creative thinking can be challenging. This chapter discusses the cognitive processes, the types of divergent thinking, visualization, and brain-functions in relation to human learning. Informed by the research in previous areas, the authors examine the features of computer interface that aligns with brain-functions to support various types of creative thinking. An example is included to demonstrate, at the conceptual level, how computer interface can be leveraged to support learners' creativity, imagination, originality, and expressiveness in learning. Discussions are made with respect to the implication and limitation of the chapter. The chapter concludes with suggestions for future research and studies.

scholarly journals Mood and Risk-Taking as Momentum for Creativity

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tsutomu Harada
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Q Learning ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
The Face ◽  
Insight Problem Solving

This study examined the effects of mood and risk-taking on divergent and convergent thinking using a Q-learning computation model. The results revealed that while mood was not significantly related to divergent or convergent thinking (as creative thinking types), risk-taking exerted positive effects on divergent thinking in the face of negative rewards. The results were consistent with the representational change theory in insight problem solving. Although this theory accounts directly for insight, the underlying idea of going beyond current contexts and implicit constrains could be applied to creative thinking as well. The results indeed accounted for the relevance of this theory to divergent thinking. The current study is one of the first empirical studies simultaneously examining the role of mood and risk-taking in creativity. In particular, no related studies exist that took a computational approach to estimate the relevant parameters in the framework of dynamic optimization. Our Q learning model enables to distinguish and identify the different roles of mood and risk-taking in updating Q values and making decisions.

scholarly journals Divergent Thinking and Convergent Thinking in the Mathematical Creative Thinking Process in terms of Student Brain Dominance

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-66
Author(s):  
Bayu Sukmaangara ◽  
Sri Tirto Madawistama
Keyword(s):  
Research Method ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Brain Dominance ◽  
Left Brain ◽  
Exploratory Approach ◽  
Thinking Process ◽  
Dominance Tests ◽  
The Right

Divergent thinking and convergent thinking play a very important role in a person's creative thinking process to solve problems and these two types of thinking are related to hemispheric functions that will affect the way a person perceives information processing. This makes research important. The purpose of this study was to obtain a picture of divergent thinking and convergent thinking in the mathematical creative thinking process in terms of brain dominance. The research method used is qualitative with a descriptive exploratory approach. The instruments used were mathematical creative thinking questions, brain dominance tests, and unstructured interviews. The result of this research is that students who dominate the left brain in the creative thinking process are more dominant in convergent thinking, students who dominate the balanced brain in the creative thinking process are balanced in divergent thinking and convergent thinking, while student who dominate the right brain in the creative thinking process are more dominant in divergent thinking.

scholarly journals Persisting Effects of Ayahuasca on Empathy, Creative Thinking, Decentering, Personality, and Well-Being

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maggie K. Kiraga ◽  
Natasha L. Mason ◽  
Malin V. Uthaug ◽  
Kim I.M. van Oorsouw ◽  
Stefan W. Toennes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cognitive Empathy ◽  
Test Battery ◽  
Satisfaction With Life Scale ◽  
Subjective Well Being

Background: Naturalistic and placebo-controlled studies have suggested that ayahuasca, a traditional Amazonian beverage, could be helpful in the treatment of psychopathologies like depression and anxiety disorders by changing otherwise disturbed cognitive and emotional processes. To better understand its full therapeutic potential, one way is to study the effects on processes like flexible thinking, empathy, and well-being, which are normally compromised in stress-related psychopathologies.Materials and Methods: Volunteers attending ayahuasca ceremonies were asked to complete a test battery at three separate occasions: baseline, the morning after, and 1 week after the ceremony. We included the constructs of creative thinking (measured by Picture Concept Test), empathy (Multifaceted Empathy Test), satisfaction with life (Satisfaction with Life Scale), decentering (Experiences Questionnaire), and personality (Big Five Inventory) into the test battery. Additionally, the psychedelic experience was quantified with the Persisting Effects Questionnaire, the Ego Dissolution Scale, and Visual Analogue Scales.Results: In total, 43 attendees (males = 22; females = 21) completed parts of the baseline assessment, 20 (males = 12; females = 8) completed assessments in the morning after the ceremony, and 19 (males = 14; females = 5) completed assessments at the 1-week follow-up. At one and 7 days post-ceremony, cognitive empathy, satisfaction with life, and decentering increased, while divergent thinking (Fluency corrected for Originality) decreased, when compared to baseline. Implicit emotional empathy increased at 1-week follow-up, whereas ratings of the trait neuroticism decreased.Conclusion: The study suggests that a single ingestion of ayahuasca in a social setting is associated with enhancement of subjective well-being, an enhanced ability to take an objective and non-judging stance towards the self (decentering), and the ability to correctly recognize emotions in others, compared to baseline, lasting up to 1 week post-ceremony. To understand the therapeutic potential related to these effects, further research with clinical populations is needed in which these effects can be assessed, including its link with therapeutic outcomes. Together, this will increase our understanding of the effectiveness and breadth of future therapeutic options.

scholarly journals The Effect of Dopaminergic Replacement Therapy on Creative Thinking and Insight Problem-Solving in Parkinson's Disease Patients

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carola Salvi ◽  
Emily K. Leiker ◽  
Beatrix Baricca ◽  
Maria A. Molinari ◽  
Roberto Eleopra ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Parkinson’S Disease ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Replacement Therapy ◽  
Inhibitory Control ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Creative Problem Solving ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Creative Problem

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients receiving dopaminergic treatment may experience bursts of creativity. Although this phenomenon is sometimes recognized among patients and their clinicians, the association between dopamine replacement therapy (DRT) in PD patients and creativity remains underexplored. It is unclear, for instance, whether DRT affects creativity through convergent or divergent thinking, idea generation, or a general lack of inhibition. It is also unclear whether DRT only augments pre-existing creative attributes or generates creativity de novo. Here, we tested a group of PD patients when “on” and “off” dopaminergic treatment on a series of tests of creative problem-solving (Alternative Uses Task, Compound Remote Associates, Rebus Puzzles), and related their performance to a group of matched healthy controls as well as to their pre-PD creative skills and measures of inhibition/impulsivity. Results did not provide strong evidence that DRT improved creative thinking in PD patients. Rather, PD patients “on” medication showed less flexibility in divergent thinking, generated fewer ideas via insight, and showed worse performance in convergent thinking overall (by making more errors) than healthy controls. Pre-PD creative skills predicted enhanced flexibility and fluency in divergent thinking when PD patients were “on” medication. However, results on convergent thinking were mixed. Finally, PD patients who exhibited deficits in a measure of inhibitory control showed weaker convergent thinking while “on” medication, supporting previous evidence on the importance of inhibitory control in creative problem-solving. Altogether, results do not support the hypothesis that DRT promotes creative thinking in PD. We speculate that bursts of artistic production in PD are perhaps conflated with creativity due to lay conceptions of creativity (i.e., an art-bias).

scholarly journals Do Open or Closed Postures Boost Creative performance? The Effects of Postural Feedback on Divergent and Convergent Thinking

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Michinov ◽  
Estelle Michinov
Keyword(s):  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Wrong Answer ◽  
Task Constraints ◽  
Initial Task ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Positive Effect

Can an individual’s body posture (expansive or contractive) affect their creative thinking (divergent or convergent)? Based on embodied cognition and the debate about the impact of nonverbal physical postures expressing power on psychological and behavioral outcomes, five experiments were conducted. We tested the prediction that expansive postures would have a positive effect on creativity tasks that have no right or wrong answer or optimal solution (divergent thinking), whereas contractive postures would have a positive effect on tasks with a right answer or an optimal solution (convergent thinking). As predicted, results revealed a positive effect of expansive postures on performance of creativity tasks requiring divergent thinking, such as producing original ideas (Study 1) or objects, either by combining shapes to create an original toy (Study 2) or by combining fragments to produce an original drawing (Study 3). Conversely, a positive effect of contractive postures was found on performance of insight tasks requiring convergent thinking, in which participants had to associate elements to discover a unifying and correct solution (Study 4) or overcome initial task constraints to find an optimal solution to a problem (Study 5). These findings open up new avenues for research in embodied creativity.

scholarly journals The Effect of Acute Aerobic Exercise on Divergent and Convergent Thinking and Its Influence by Mood

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 546
Author(s):  
Kohei Aga ◽  
Masato Inamura ◽  
Chong Chen ◽  
Kosuke Hagiwara ◽  
Rikuto Yamashita ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Exercise ◽  
Aerobic Exercise ◽  
Creative Thinking ◽  
Divergent Thinking ◽  
Convergent Thinking ◽  
Post Exercise ◽  
Control Intervention ◽  
Divergent And Convergent Thinking ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Insight Problem Solving

Abundant evidence shows that various forms of physical exercise, even conducted briefly, may improve cognitive functions. However, the effect of physical exercise on creative thinking remains under-investigated, and the role of mood in this effect remains unclear. In the present study, we set out to investigate the effect of an acute bout of aerobic exercise on divergent and convergent thinking and whether this effect depends on the post-exercise mood. Forty healthy young adults were randomly assigned to receive a 15-min exercise or control intervention, before and after which they conducted an alternate use test measuring divergent thinking and an insight problem-solving task measuring convergent thinking. It was found that exercise enhanced divergent thinking in that it increased flexibility and fluency. Importantly, these effects were not mediated by the post-exercise mood in terms of pleasure and vigor. In contrast, the effect on convergent thinking depended on subjects’ mood after exercise: subjects reporting high vigor tended to solve more insight problems that were unsolved previously, while those reporting low vigor became less capable of solving previously unsolved problems. These findings suggest that aerobic exercise may affect both divergent and convergent thinking, with the former being mood-independent and the latter mood-dependent. If these findings can be replicated with more rigorous studies, engaging in a bout of mood, particularly vigor-enhancing aerobic exercise, may be considered a useful strategy for gaining insights into previously unsolved problems.

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