This research comprises two studies investigating the impact of mood and cognitive stimulation on creativity, with a focus on the role of task type. The first study focused on idea generation, whereas the second explored slogan generation, revealing differing outcomes for distinct tasks. Positive and negative moods were induced through memory…

Episodic retrieval plays a functional-adaptive role in supporting divergent creative thinking, the ability to creatively combine different pieces of information. However, the same constructive memory process that provides this benefit can also lead to memory errors. Prior behavioral work has shown that there is a positive correlation between the…

This study investigated the development of divergent thinking (DT) in early childhood. We followed 107 4-year-olds for 1.5 years. Children's DT was assessed with the Alternative Uses Task (AUT) every 6 months, four times in total. Within the AUT, children were asked to generate unusual uses of common objects while explaining how they came up with…

Previous research indicates that episodic retrieval contributes to divergent creative thinking. However, this research has relied on standard laboratory tests of divergent creative thinking, such as generating creative uses for objects; it is unknown whether episodic retrieval also contributes to domain-specific forms of creativity. Here we start…

Multisensory environments rich in modal integration provide cues from various sensory modalities including visually, auditorily, and tactilely. Such modal integration plays a crucial role in cognitive processing, specifically in fostering creativity. Numerous studies highlight that emotional coherence through cross-modal affective integration…

Education is central to the acquisition of knowledge, such as when children learn new concepts. It is unknown, however, whether educational differences impact not only what concepts children learn, but how those concepts come to be represented in semantic memory--a system that supports higher cognitive functions, such as creative thinking. Here we…

With the emergence of a wealth of research-based information in the field of educational neuroscience, educators are now able to make more evidence-based decisions in the important area of curriculum design and construction. By viewing from the perspective of educational neuroscience, we can give a more meaningful and lasting purpose of leading to…

To what extent do more creative people process emotional information differently than less creative people? This study examined the role of emotion processing in creativity and its implications for the creativity-psychopathology association. A total of 117 participants performed a memory recognition task for negative, positive, and neutral words;…

The study argues that, in addition to advantages in conscious attention-demanding processing, bilinguals may also exhibit enhanced unconscious divergent thinking. To investigate this issue, the performance of Russian-English bilingual immigrants and English monolingual native speakers was compared on the Abbreviated Torrance Test for Adults, which…

One theoretical model for understanding the visual event suggests that a visual event has both a surface (descriptive) and a deeper (experience) level of understanding. Both levels are needed to comprehend and appreciate images, with each level affecting the other. A person's perspective is an important part of the visual event, which depends upon…

Author presented a theory of thinking designed to multiply our power as thinkers, problem-solvers and learners. (Author/RK)

Employs a clinical interview methodology to examine some of the creative thinking strategies commonly used by children in elementary school grades. Results suggest that children use several strategies on creativity tasks. (RH)

Eighty-nine college students with varying levels of divergent thinking aptitude participated in a study focusing on the processing of concrete and abstract stimuli. The subjects were administered three divergent thinking instruments. Their processing of concrete and abstract stimuli was studied in two separate free-response tasks. It was…

A study of twins was conducted to determine the presence of an hereditary component in short term memory and in three aspects of verbal divergent thinking--flexibility, fluency, and originality. Results showed the existence of a significant genetic component in the trait of short term memory, while none was found in verbal divergent thinking. (AG)

This paper reviews current models of problem solving to identify results relevant to teachers or instructional developers. Four areas are covered: information processing models, approaches stressing human abilities and factors, creative problem solving models, and other aspects of problem solving. Part of a theme issue on intelligence. (Author/SJL)