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