Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology
2024. Vol. 13, no. 2, 154–164
doi:10.17759/jmfp.2024130214
ISSN: 2304-4977 (online)
Cogito Meliorem! In Search of Magical Ways to Facilitate Creativity
Abstract
This paper presents a systematical review of facilitation techniques for creativity in general and insight solutions in particular. The facilitation techniques are fairly diverse, therefore we grouped them into nine categories: rest, attention management, impact of emotions, adding new context, physical activity, interactivity, future-thought priming, metacognitive training, and unusual techniques for increasing creativity. Each category is provided by a brief description and a set of studies that demonstrate possibilities and limitations of the techniques as well as an analysis and comparison of the techniques with each other. At the conclusion, we present a model of levels of creative solution facilitation based on four classical psychological levels. According to this model, influence on the solution can be carried out (1) through conscious strategies for managing the solution through metacognition; due to changes occurring in (2) cognitive and (3) emotional-motivational processes; (4) indirectly, due to changes in the external environment. We made a general conclusion about the variety of techniques that influence the creativity process, and most of them combine several possible facilitation mechanisms, making each technique more effective and applicable to various types of creative tasks.
General Information
Keywords: facilitation, creation, creativity, insight, insight problem
Journal rubric: General Psychology
Article type: review article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/jmfp.2024130214
Funding. The paper was supported by YSU Development Program, grant GL-2023-1.
Received: 10.10.2023
Accepted:
For citation: Savinova A.D., Markin F.N., Korovkin S.Y. Cogito Meliorem! In Search of Magical Ways to Facilitate Creativity [Elektronnyi resurs]. Sovremennaia zarubezhnaia psikhologiia = Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology, 2024. Vol. 13, no. 2, pp. 154–164. DOI: 10.17759/jmfp.2024130214. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)
References
- Savinova A.D., Korovkin S.Y. Kak svyazany rabochaya pamyat' i izmenenie reprezentatsii: spetsificheskii i nespetsificheskii podkhod k insaitu [How are Working Memory and Representational Change Related: Specific and Non-Specific Approach to Insight]. Eksperimental'naya psikhologiya = Experimental Psychology (Russia), 2023. Vol. 16, no. 4, pp. 36—56. DOI:10.17759/exppsy.2023160403 (In Russ.).
- Patrick J., Ahmed A., Smy V., Seeby H., Sambrooks K. A cognitive procedure for representation change in verbal insight problems. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 2015. Vol. 41, no. 3, pp. 746—759. DOI:10.1037/xlm0000045
- Truelove-Hill M., Erickson B.A., Anderson J., Kossoyan M., Kounios J. A growth-curve analysis of the effects of future-thought priming on insight and analytical problem-solving. Frontiers in Psychology, 2018. Vol. 9, article ID 1311. 9 p. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.01311
- Acosta G., Smith E., Kreinovich V. Why pink noise is best for enhancing sleep and memory: system-based explanation. Applied mathematical sciences, 2019. Vol. 13, no. 14, pp. 677—680. DOI:10.12988/ams.2019.9796
- Chuderski A., Jastrzębski J., Kucwaj H. How physical interaction with insight problems affects solution rates, hint use, and cognitive load. British Journal of Psychology, 2021. Vol. 112, no. 1, pp. 120—143. DOI:10.1111/bjop.12442
- Colzato L.S., Szapora Ozturk A., Hommel B. Meditate to create: the impact of focused-attention and open-monitoring training on convergent and divergent thinking. Frontiers in psychology, 2012. Vol. 3, article ID 116. 5 p. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00116
- Craig M., Ottaway G., Dewar M. Rest on it: Awake quiescence facilitates insight. Cortex, 2018. Vol. 109, pp. 205—214. DOI:10.1016/j.cortex.2018.09.009
- Ovington L.A., Saliba A.J., Moran C.C., Goldring J., MacDonald J.B. Do people really have insights in the shower? The when, where and who of the Aha! Moment. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 2018. Vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 21—34. DOI:10.1002/jocb.126
- Förster J., Friedman R.S., Liberman N. Temporal construal effects on abstract and concrete thinking: consequences for insight and creative cognition. Journal of personality and social psychology, 2004. Vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 177—189. DOI:10.1037/0022-3514.87.2.177
- Henok N., Vallée-Tourangeau F., Vallée-Tourangeau G. Incubation and interactivity in insight problem solving. Psychological Research, 2020. Vol. 84, pp. 128—139. DOI:10.1007/s00426-018-0992-9
- Huntsinger J.R., Clore G.L., Bar-Anan Y. Mood and global—local focus: Priming a local focus reverses the link between mood and global—local processing. Emotion, 2010. Vol. 10, no. 5, pp. 722—726. DOI:10.1037/a0019356
- Vallée-Tourangeau F., Ross W., Ruffatto Rech R., Vallée-Tourangeau G. Insight as discovery. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 2021. Vol. 33, no. 6—7, pp. 718—737. DOI:10.1080/20445911.2020.1822367
- Jarosz A.F., Colflesh G.J.H., Wiley J. Uncorking the muse: Alcohol intoxication facilitates creative problem solving. Consciousness and Cognition, 2012. Vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 487—493. DOI:10.1016/j.concog.2012.01.002
- Jia L., Hirt E. R., Karpen S.C. Lessons from a faraway land: The effect of spatial distance on creative cognition. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2009. Vol. 45, no. 5, pp. 1127—1131. DOI:10.1016/j.jesp.2009.05.015
- Kaufmann G., Vosburg S.K. “Paradoxical” mood effects on creative problem-solving. Cognition & Emotion, 1997. Vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 151—170. DOI:10.1080/026999397379971
- Korovkin S., Savinova A. The effectiveness of metacognitive hints in insight problem solving. In Velichkovsky B.M., Balaban P.M., Ushakov V.L. (eds.), Advances in Cognitive Research, Artificial Intelligence and Neuroinformatics: Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Cognitive Sciences, Intercognsci-2020 (g. Moscow, 10—16 October, 2020). Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2021, pp. 101—106. DOI:10.1007/978-3-030-71637-0_11
- Laue R., Danek A.H. An experiment on the impact of TRIZ-inspired thinking on solving insight problems. In Cavallucci D., Livotov P., Brad S. (eds.), Towards AI-Aided Invention and Innovation: 23rd International TRIZ Future Conference (g. Offenburg, 12—14 September, 2023): Proceedings. Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, 2023, pp. 417—425. DOI:10.1007/978-3-031-42532-5_32
- Mehta R., Zhu R., Cheema A. Is noise always bad? Exploring the effects of ambient noise on creative cognition. Journal of Consumer Research, 2012. Vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 784—799. DOI:10.1086/665048
- Bianchi I., Branchini E., Canestrari C., Burro R. On pleasures of the mind related to humour and insight problem solving: An investigation of people’s awareness of what they like and why. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 2022. Vol. 34, no. 6, pp. 778—795. DOI:10.1080/20445911.2022.2047058
- Oppezzo M., Schwartz D.L. Give your ideas some legs: the positive effect of walking on creative thinking. Journal of experimental psychology: learning, memory, and cognition, 2014. Vol. 40, no. 4, pp. 1142—1152. DOI:10.1037/a0036577
- Orita R., Hattori M. Positive and negative affects facilitate insight problem‐solving in different ways: A study with implicit hints. Japanese Psychological Research, 2019. Vol. 61, no. 2, pp. 94—106. DOI:10.1111/jpr.12237
- Miron-Spektor E., Efrat-Treister D., Rafaeli A., Schwarz-Cohen O. Others' anger makes people work harder not smarter: The effect of observing anger and sarcasm on creative and analytic thinking. Journal of Applied Psychology, 2011. Vol. 96, no. 5, pp. 1065—1075. DOI:10.1037/a0023593
- Patterson R., Frith E., Loprinzi P.D. The experimental effects of acute walking on cognitive creativity performance. Journal of behavioral Health, 2018. Vol 7, no. 3, pp. 113—119. DOI:10.5455/jbh.20180415053930
- Slepian M.L., Weisbuch M., Rutchick A.M., Newman L.S., Ambady N. Shedding light on insight: Priming bright ideas. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2010. Vol. 46, no. 4, pp. 696—700. DOI:10.1016/j.jesp.2010.03.009
- Debarnot U., Rossi M., Faraguna U., Schwartz S., Sebastiani L. Sleep does not facilitate insight in older adults. Neurobiology of learning and memory, 2017. Vol. 140, pp. 106—113. DOI:10.1016/j.nlm.2017.02.005
- Schönauer M., Brodt S., Pöhlchen D., Breßmer A., Danek A.H., Gais S. Sleep does not promote solving classical insight problems and magic tricks. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2018. Vol. 12, article ID 72. 11 p. DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2018.00072
- Lacaux C., Andrillon T., Bastoul C., Idir Y., Fonteix-Galet A., Arnulf I., Oudiette D. Sleep onset is a creative sweet spot. Science Advances, 2021. Vol. 7, no. 50, article ID eabj5866. 9 p. DOI:10.1126/sciadv.abj5866
- Smith S.M., Beda Z. Old problems in new contexts: The context-dependent fixation hypothesis. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 2020. Vol. 149, no. 1, pp. 192—197. DOI:10.1037/xge0000615
- Steffensen S.V., Vallée-Tourangeau F. An ecological perspective on insight problem solving. In Vallée-Tourangeau F. (ed.), Insight: On the Origins of New Ideas. London: Routledge, 2018, pp. 169—190. DOI:10.4324/9781315268118
- Capezuti E., Pain K., Alamag E., Chen X., Philibert V., Krieger A.C. Systematic review: auditory stimulation and sleep. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2022. Vol. 18, no. 6, pp. 1697—1709. DOI:10.5664/jcsm.9860
- Sanders K.E., Osburn S., Paller K.A., Beeman M. Targeted memory reactivation during sleep improves next-day problem solving. Psychological science, 2019. Vol. 30, no. 11, pp. 1616—1624. DOI:10.1177/0956797619873344
- Zhou Z., Wu J., Luo H., Guo Y., Tu M., Yu Q., Zhang L. The effect of humor on insight problem-solving. Personality and Individual Differences, 2021. Vol. 183, article ID 111105. 7 p. DOI:10.1016/j.paid.2021.111105
- Colzato L.S., Szapora Ozturk A., Pannekoek J.N., Hommel B. The impact of physical exercise on convergent and divergent thinking. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 2013. Vol. 7, article ID 824. 6 p. DOI:10.3389/fnhum.2013.00824
- Rummel J., Iwan F., Steindorf L., Danek A.H. The role of attention for insight problem solving: effects of mindless and mindful incubation periods. Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 2021. Vol. 33, no. 6—7, pp. 757—769. DOI:10.1080/20445911.2020.1841779
- Van Stockum C.A., DeCaro M.S. Enclothed cognition and controlled attention during insight problem-solving. The Journal of Problem Solving, 2014. Vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 73—83. DOI:10.7771/1932-6246.1164
- Wegbreit E., Suzuki S., Grabowecky M., Kounios J., Beeman M. Visual attention modulates insight versus analytic solving of verbal problems. The journal of problem solving, 2012. Vol. 4, no. 2, pp. 94—115. DOI:10.7771/1932-6246.1127
- Walinga J., Cunningham J.B., MacGregor J.N. Training insight problem solving through focus on barriers and assumptions. The Journal of Creative Behavior, 2011. Vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 47—58. DOI:10.1002/j.2162-6057.2011.tb01084.x
- Seel S.V., Easton A., McGregor A., Buckley M.G., Eacott M.J. Walking through doorways differentially affects recall and familiarity. British Journal of Psychology, 2019. Vol. 110, no. 1, pp. 173—184. DOI:10.1111/bjop.12343
- Wieth M.B., Zacks R.T. Time of day effects on problem solving: When the non-optimal is optimal. Thinking & Reasoning, 2011. Vol. 17, no. 4, pp. 387—401. DOI:10.1080/13546783.2011.625663
- Zedelius C.M., Schooler J.W. Mind wandering “Ahas” versus mindful reasoning: Alternative routes to creative solutions. Frontiers in psychology, 2015. Vol. 6, article ID 834. 13 p. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00834
Information About the Authors
Metrics
Views
Total: 202
Previous month: 30
Current month: 11
Downloads
Total: 76
Previous month: 15
Current month: 3