Tuesday Attention, cognitive control, and creativity
Dec 17, 2015
Tuesday
Attention, cognitive control, and creativity
Attention is responsible for:
SelectionReduction of surplus of information
VigilanceProlonged concentration
SearchLooking for information
Dual task controlDividing resources
The stereotype
Absent-minded genius
Does this stereotype have any empirical support?
If so, is absentmindedness a result or causal factor?
Introspective data
Ghiselin, Rompel i Taylor (1964)Creative and less creative scientistsJust before insight
diffused, wandering, unstablefocused
Just after insightSteady, searchingintensive
In the phase of elaborationclear, intensivediffused
Mendelsohn & Griswold (1964)
Participants were divided into high and low creative
They memorized a list of words
Then they solved anagramsmsmrue oslcoh
Some of the memorized words were solutionssummer school
Results
Creative participants solved more anagrams
These effects were not accountable in terms of memory efficiency
Conclusion: creative people unconsciously utilized the list of words
Other studies
Anagrams
„Incidental” sounds in the environment
Some of these sounds helped to solve anagrams
Creative persons were able to take advantage of incidental stimuli
Mendelsohn’s theory
Cue utilizationIncidental stimuli may serve as cuesCue utilization needs special states of
attentionSome persons’ attention is typically diffused
and distractableThese persons easily utilize cuesTherefore they are creative
Evaluation of these studies
Simple task not demanding any creativity
The mechanisms of creative cognition are outlined
but
Difficult to replicate
(particularly with different criteria of creativity)
Groborz (2003)
Simple visual stimuli
„Do something with these figures”Generative phase
„Decide what you have done”Explorative phase
Incidental verbal stimuli
Groborz (2003)
Incidental words as cues
Cue utilizationYes, in the generative phaseNo, in the explorative phase
Dynamics of selective attention in the creative process
Kasof (1997)
„Breadth of attention” questionnaireDo you feel the texture of your cloths?
Can you read when a fly is making a noise around you?
Positive but weak correlation between psychometric creativity and breadth of attention
Kasof (1997)
White noise during problem solvingraising the level of arousal
„narrowing” attention
White noise is harmfulparticularly for psychometrically creative
persons
Kolańczyk (1992)
Intensive attentiongoal-directed motivation
rational thinking
Extensive attentionno specific goal
intuitive thinking
Rawlings (1985)
Dichotic listeningattended channel (shadowing, structured material)
ignored channel
control words in the ignored channel
recognition of control words
Efficacy of attentional filter:How many control words have been recognized
Rawlings
Attentional filter is weaker in
Creative personsPsychotic persons
The „leaking” attention hypothesisIntrusionsOriginal associations
Creativity, psychoticism, and attention
Psychoticism: personality factor
Hans J. Eysenck’ hypothesis: dopamine
lack of inhibition attention deficit
P C(schizotypy, schizophrenia)
Creativity and ADHD
Shaw (1992)
ADHD – attention deficit hyperactive disorder
Positive correlation between ADHD and psychometric creativity
„Leaking” attention hypothesis
Nęcka (1999)
DIVA (DIVided Attention) testmain task (selection of stimuli)secondary task (motoric)
More and less creative personsUrban & Jellen TCT-DPCreative Thinking Test
Creative persons have to pay more for controlling of the secondary task
DIVA task
P
r R
KN
R
Nęcka (1999)
01002003004005006007008009001000
single dual
Cr-
Cr+
Interpretation
ResourcesSharing of „energy”
SwitchingCost of switch
DistractabilitySecondary task draws attention
Słabosz (2000)
Stroop interference taskRed YellowGreen Blue
Negative priming taskA T A GF A F SG F P K K G T M
Słabosz (2000)
Creative personsMore susceptible to the interference effect
Less susceptible to the negative priming effect
Conclusion: creativity is associated with weaker cognitive inhibition an the preattentive stage of processing
To sum up
Creativity has something to do with inefficiency of selective attention
Top-down explanationCreativity affects attention
Bottom-up explanation„Leaking” attention facilitates creativity
Coincidencee.g., dopamine, inhibition, P, attention deficit
However...
Alternative explanationse.g., automatic switch
Dynamics of attention